Dare You To Move
by Wrong-Time.Wrong-Situation
Summary: She did. She moved. After being forced to leave New York, she moved all the way to Forks, Washington. There, though, she will not be moved. Not by the people. Not any one of them. JasperxOC
1. Dare You To Move Across The Country

Amethyst stared down Forks High School angrily from her car, not wanting to set foot into the insultingly small buildings. It had to be a joke – no high school should be allowed to operate with less than 400 students enrolled.

She sighed and dropped her head forward, smacking it on the steering wheel, before staring angrily at that as well. Driving to school every day was going to be the worst. The subway, on the other hand, was much more convenient.

Checking her watch, Amethyst contemplated glaring at that as well. She only had 20 minutes left before her first class, and she still had to find out what that class actually would be.

The rain didn't sound as if it would let up, so Amethyst reached over and grabbed her umbrella from the passenger's seat, shoved her bag onto her shoulder, took a deep breath and stepped out into the rain.

Her first thought: high heels were not going to work as well as she thought they would that morning. The shoes had almost no traction on the slightly flooded lot where she had parked, and she could feel the heel sinking into a random break in the asphalt. Trying to get it out of the crack with as much grace as possible, Amethyst slammed her car door shut and began to venture her way to the so-called high school.

The maroon bricks glared right back at her as Amethyst walked toward the first building, slightly grateful for the sign labeling it as the front office. The shrubs along the sidewalk scratched at her bare legs, making her readjust her pencil skirt in annoyance.

Amethyst closed her umbrella and stared around the office in disdain, noticing folding chairs and plants in plastic containers covering every corner. The typical bulletin board and annoyingly loud clock made the office seem overly cliché.

A large red-haired woman came up to the bar in the middle of the room, jumping slightly when she noticed Amethyst. The girl smirked as the woman adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat before actually addressing her.

"Good morning, dear. What can I help you with?"

The politeness made Amethyst twitch a bit internally. "I need my schedule. I'm Amethyst Ashford."

"Oh, of course!" The woman immediately began rifling through papers with a huge smile on her face. "You would be Amethyst, coming all the way to Forks from New York! We're excited to have you here." She brandished three pieces of paper, looking back up to Amethyst. The woman's smile faltered slightly at Amethyst's blank look.

Getting closer to the desk, Amethyst slid a hand over her hair to put any strays back in place. "Did my transcripts transfer correctly?"

"They did," the woman, Ms. Cope the nameplate on her desk read, replied. She seemed significantly less warm at Amethyst's cool response. "You have certain advanced placement classes due to your test scores, and we worked with your previous school to see if our curriculum differed enough that you would have to retake a class already on your transcript. We, unfortunately, do not have the same variety of classes to offer as your previous school."

Resisting the urge to snort, Amethyst looked over the paperwork Ms. Cope had laid out in front of her. There was a schedule, a map and a form which made her raise an eyebrow. "What do I do with the form?"

Ms. Cope gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Your teachers will have to sign off next to their classes on the other one just to ensure you're going to your classes and everything is going well. They know the drill. You'll bring the paper back at the end of the day."

"Thanks," Amethyst said, picking up her papers and turning to walk out.

"Wait, do you want help with finding your classes?"

Rolling her eyes, Amethyst glanced at the map. "I'll be fine." She walked halfway back to the door, pausing slightly and remembering this was not New York City. "Thank you, though."

The response was slightly surprised. "Of course, dear. We hope you like it here."

That one made her bite her tongue as she stepped back into the rain. Cursing herself for grabbing her coat without a hood, Amethyst reopened her umbrella and glanced at her schedule, noting she had to make her way to the fourth building.

Even though the November air was nipping at her legs, she didn't rush to the building. Instead, Amethyst paused to watch the student lot fill up and was surprised to see her 2002 Jetta was one of the nicer cars out there. It seemed as if most students were staying in the lot to gather into their typical groups.

Checking her watch again quickly, Amethyst knew she was still early and did not want to be the first person to class. She took a minute to find the bathroom on her map and headed that direction.

Finding the correct building with minimal difficulty, she walked into the thankfully empty bathroom. The rain had caused slight frizz in her stick straight sheets of brunette hair which she calmed with her hands. She quickly unbuttoned the black and white checkered pea cot she had donned so she could adjust her white t-shirt underneath, making sure it tucked smoothly into her skirt.

Amethyst glanced up into the mirror distrustfully, her electric blue eyes drawn to the makeup on the right side of her face. While her makeup was expensive and should have held, there was a very dark bruise around her eye and temple she did not want people to see her first day at school.

Although she wasn't happy with what she saw, it would have to suffice. Amethyst nodded to herself, fixed her hair one more time and closed up her jacket before turning on her heel.

A small crowd surprised her when she pushed the door open. Students were at their lockers in groups and people were just standing in the middle of the hallway talking. Rolling her eyes to herself, she looked straight forward as she left the building to head to her first class. Whispers echoed around her as her heels clacked loudly, but she refused to acknowledge any of them.

Not bothering with her umbrella outside, Amethyst took some quick steps to get back to the building for her class. She nodded when some guy held the door open for her, most likely staring at her ass. Amethyst stepped in and wanted to groan as everyone turned to stare at her but refused to break for these people.

She had spent too long living with people staring and talking about her in hushed voices for this tiny town to break her.


	2. Dare You To Move Away From The Door

Not sparing another glance toward the class, Amethyst went to a coat rack she had spotted to her left and quickly shed her coat before walking to her teacher. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed he had stopped writing out example problems to also stare at her. The man jumped slightly when she walked with a bit more force than necessary, intentionally making her heels as loud as possible.

"I'm Amethyst Ashford," she informed him before he could gush like the secretary from the office. She pulled out her schedule and the form he needed to sign. "And you are Mr. Gulden, and this is first period AP Calculus."

Mr. Gulden chuckled at her slightly. "It is indeed, welcome. Grab a seat anywhere; everyone else will fill in around you. I'll sign your form at the end of class so we can chat then, sound good?"

Amethyst nodded and pressed her lips into what she hoped was some semblance of a smile. When her teacher turned back to the board she turned and, without making eye contact, grabbed a seat in the middle of the front row. Whispers got slightly louder around her, apparently amazed she sat so far up.

Scoffing mentally, she wondered if any of her classmates realized seating had nothing to do with how much you learned, but everything to do with the way the teacher and peers perceive you. Amethyst reached into the messenger bag that she had dropped onto the floor and pulled out her laptop and a notebook, standard issue equipment at Stuyvesant. Apparently not in Forks, as it created even more whispers. As if she should have expected anything less.

The seats around her filled last, not that Amethyst minded. The people on both of her sides seemed a bit upset to be away from their friends, leaning away from her to talk to their respective groups. Amethyst tapped a plum colored fingernail on the table, waiting for the lesson to begin so everyone would finally shut up.

Not even five minutes into the lesson, Amethyst realized the class was using a textbook she had covered the previous year and almost screamed in frustration. Her parents could move her for all of their personal reasons and screw with her social life as much as they wanted. But hurting her education? She was going to throw a fit.

Taking only minimal notes for the rest of the lesson, a sigh of relief escaped her when the bell finally dismissed the session. The guy to her right looked slightly amused, while the girl on her left gave her a knowing look. They both got up and left with their friends, something Amethyst appreciated.

"Not too much for you, is it?" Mr. Gulden smiled at her as he walked over and perched on the desk near her. "I saw you weren't really taking notes."

"Mr. Gulden, I transferred here from Stuyvesant, a STEM school in New York City with this whole special admissions process. This book?" She gestured toward the one in his hand. "We used it last year. I can probably answer the problems you assigned for homework before next period. Are there any more advanced classes I could move in to?"

Amethyst hadn't been expecting to stun him, but her teacher obviously hadn't been expecting brutal honestly. He seemed to have trouble finding the words for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Ms. Ashford. The only higher class offered is AP Statistics, which is probably already full. I was unaware you had already completed Calculus."

"Well, technically, we used this book in pre-calc, which I only had to take because juniors and seniors had priority for the Calculus courses. I'm going to see if they can find a spot for me, because I really don't see the point in repeating an entire year. Will you sign this?" Amethyst pushed the form to her stunned teacher, who took a moment before signing it. She nodded when he handed it back to her and was surprised when a textbook was pushed toward her as well.

"Homework is still due tomorrow for you, barring a transfer." She accepted the statement, noting Mr. Gulden had his feet back underneath him. "If they can't transfer you, we'll find something to keep you busy."

Amethyst nodded thoughtfully, considering her teacher as she stood up. "Thank you, for that offer." She piled her laptop and notebook on top of the book in her arm before going to grab her jacket from the coat rack.

When she stepped out the doors, the first thing she noticed was that the rain had stopped. Amethyst sighed in relief before reaching down to her bag to grab her schedule. However, she didn't get that far before something solid crashed into her.

"Hey, watch it!" She cried, making sure she grabbed her laptop tighter as she worked to balance it.

"Sorry!" The guy grinned at her and laughed at something one of his friends called out before turning to actually look at her. "Hey, you're that Amethyst girl."

"And you're a genius," she muttered, diving back into her bag to actually grab her schedule.

He laughed again. "Actually, I'm Tyler. Athlete, comedian and newly named genius."

Amethyst looked up at this guy, noting he wasn't too much taller than her with a 3 inch boost from her heels. "Hilarious. Do you mind moving?"

"Actually, you're the one in the way." He gestured behind her with a smirk. "I have class in there."

Amethyst rolled her eyes and stepped to the side, annoyed someone had actually caught her and made her move in a place like this. The guy obviously saw that and sighed.

"Look, whatever's up your ass, most of the guys here would happily remove it for you."

"Excuse you!" Amethyst snapped, looking up from her schedule. "You have no right to say something like that."

"And you have no right to act like you own the place." He shrugged. "Fair trade."

She exhaled heavily through her nose. "It doesn't matter what you guys think anyway. This is just some tiny town in the middle of nowhere."

"Where you're now stuck, presumably for another year or so." Amethyst cringed internally, refusing to make eye contact. "Look, pretty much everyone here is chill and probably wants to be your friend. You don't have to be alone here."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," she accused, looking him straight in the eye.

"Maybe. Maybe not. If you decide you want to be human and have friends to help you with stuff, let me know." He walked through the doorway behind her, which allowed the bell for the next class to sound clearly. Amethyst cursed under her breath and hurried two buildings over to her class.

She brushed off whatever that guy – Tyler – had meant and went through the same process as last period, only this time in AP Physics. Thankfully, she hadn't taken Physics yet as it had only been open to upperclassmen, so her interest was kept through most of the period. The class only had 7 people in it, and her teacher informed her she would be joining one of two teams for a semester project. Every other Wednesday was a work day for the project, meaning she would actually meet with her group in two days.

Third period photography, the one elective Amethyst refused to drop with the move, and fourth period AP Chemistry followed much the same pattern, and Amethyst found herself pleasantly surprised by the courses she ended up taking as she sat down at a lunch table. Not minding that she was by herself, she slowly picked at a salad, steadily working through her Calculus homework.

"It really cannot be more fun to be doing homework than having friends at lunch."

Tyler was back again. Amethyst closed her eyes for an extended moment before looking up at him. "Maybe I find it easier to do homework at school to be able to do whatever I want later."

"Yeah but see you still won't be hanging out with friends later," he said. "You'll be home alone with your boring parents."

Amethyst trained her features to cover the instinctive cringe at his statement. "And there will be things to do there, involving moving and such." She turned back to her homework, hoping this would finally end the conversation. Instead, a tray dropped onto her table and she audibly groaned.

"Why are you a bitch?"

"Why are you stubborn?"

"Because I'm willing to fight for the good in people." Tyler cracked open a sports drink from his tray and took a long drink. "Your turn."

Rolling her eyes, Amethyst replied simply. "I'm a New Yorker."

"And?"

"And this is how things are, okay? Now do you mind? I need to get this done before gym."

However, this did not have the intended response. "Hey, we have gym together!"

She threw down her pencil and turned to glare at him, but couldn't seem to bother him. He smiled and shrugged at her, a grin that widened as her glare intensified.

"Eat up. We're playing basketball, and you're looking at the leading scorer on our team."

"This school is big enough to have a full roster basketball team?" Amethyst wondered aloud, causing Tyler to point at her in warning before he dug into his own food. Wondering why he was still at her table, she turned back to finish up her Calculus homework, putting the finishing touches on as the bell rang.

Tyler had apparently been misinformed about gym, as they ended up having a free day to either do laps around the gym or set up a game of volleyball. Amethyst kept a steady pace of laps around the game in the middle of the gym, not stopping to watch like most of the others who had picked to do laps. Even when Tyler yelled out to her to join the game, she kept going with her laps and ignored him.

Finally, at the end of gym, Amethyst headed to AP Literature, a class she was actually looking forward to after going through the reading list with her teacher. Her day ended with AP Government and Politics. She was surprised to walk into the class a minute or so before the bell rang and only find three open seats in one of the bigger classrooms she had seen at the high school.

"Amethyst, hello." The teacher smiled at her as she walked toward him from hanging her coat. "I'm Mr. Brock. Wonderful to have you joining us. Some of our students have already had a few run ins with you today." A chuckle went through the class, and Amethyst felt her eyebrows pull together. Glancing out, her eyes almost immediately found Tyler who wiggled his fingers at her.

Concern briefly passed through her mind as she wondered what exactly the boy had told the class, but she forced it to pass almost instantly. Instead, she pressed her lips together at her teacher. "Where should I sit?"

"Well, Mr. Crowley does already have a full table for this class and they all refuse to move apart," Mr. Brock paused jokingly as he turned his eyes to the table. "ever," he added, causing a new round of laughter, "you can sit with Mr. Cullen's table."

Amethyst turned again and saw a solid mass of man wave slightly, so she headed over to the long table, settling between the big guy and the girl she recognized from her Calculus class.

"Alright guys, since a new student will keep you all from focusing on a lecture today anyway, let's go ahead and debate." A cheer rippled through the class, which Mr. Brock laughingly quieted. "Let's have Emmett's and Andrea's tables team up against Tyler's and Liza's. Anyone have anything we haven't already talked about yet in class they're itching to debate?"

"How about the Bill of Rights? I know we already went through the Constitution but we haven't looked at those rights yet." someone from a table over asked.

"Interesting, but I don't know if there's enough focus to that yet. How about you find a more secure direction and we might try that next time. Liza?"

"What about immigration? We haven't discussed the impact of immigration in regards to the access they have to American assets."

"You have a point, but we have gone over how the immigration progress works and we've already had a session about naturalization and compared it domestically and internationally. Someone else?"

"What about the New Deal?" Tyler offered. "We've been going over how to negotiate with foreign bodies, but we haven't really discussed how to deal with a government crash internally."

Mr. Brock nodded. "I like it. Let's go. 20 minutes preparation and then formal rhetorical debate style."

Amethyst raised her eyebrows as the class jumped into action as if they were prepared for this. Tables were pushed together and textbooks were pulled out as Mr. Brock turned on a row of computers in the back of the room.

She was pleasantly surprised by how informed her classmates were about the topic, not saying much as they formed an argument about how the New Deal didn't actually provide relief, instead actually functioning as a power play with the government. The entire debate was impressive, honestly, as the sides got up and presented their sides in the limited times and were given rebuttals at the end of each 3 minute speaking block.

By the end of it, Amethyst was really caught up in the debate, finding herself responding immediately after a rebuttal coming from Tyler instead of waiting for the correct time to respond.

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Excuse you?" Tyler challenged her.

"You just said the whole point of the deal was to create jobs. But it wasn't. The New Deal was supposed to put the power back in the government's hands to remind people that they are making the right decisions. It's a major part of the propaganda period."

"And where's your proof?" He crossed his arms and leaned back.

"Just the launching of the deals. We have two New Deals, technically, one all about repair work that was all about showing how the government would go out and make everything better. And then they started bringing people into the government and giving them jobs – keep in mind, the Works Progress Administration made the federal government the largest employer by far in the nation."

"Okay, but that just shows that they were creating jobs to give back to the people who deserved it in the country."

"But they were only giving one job to families across the country. Who says the one who ended up with the job was the one who really deserved it? And by the point they were willing to hire you, your family was likely starving because you had literally been broke for so long."

"But that was the point! The entire country was in a Depression. They had to be selective about how they handed out jobs."

"And so they had families, children, starving because they thought they had a right to be selective. There were 20 million people on relief and they only wanted to hire 3 million people-"

"Which was whittled down logically in a way that you can't even argue with if you actually look it up!" Tyler slammed his hands down on the table. "People were being good to each other and giving them opportunities. The government thought it through and made reasonable offerings. Why do you find it so hard to believe people are actually extending a helpful hand with no strings attached?"

"Guys!" Mr. Brock called. Tyler and Amethyst were both on their feet in a shouting match by the time he jumped in with the rest of the class staring at them in stunned silence. "That's more than enough. You both brought up some very valid points but did it in a way that was not conducive to actually learning anything. Instead, I want the two of you to submit a 5 page essay to me by the end of the week, weighing the pros and cons of the WPA." The bell rang, punctuating his sentence. "Good debate, guys, really. Thank you everyone for participating."

Most of the class was already packed by this point, more than ready for the day to be over. Amethyst reached for her bag slowly, realizing that she had basically made a fool of herself by screaming over the New Deal on her first day. She sighed and had Mr. Brock sign off on her slip.

He looked up at her and smiled after signing. "Listen, you're obviously well educated and passionate. That's great. I love having students like that. But can we work to keep it a little bit more reined in while in class?"

"Sorry, sir," Amethyst murmured, grabbing her slip and walking away.

"Hey, don't be sorry." She turned on her heel. "It's great. Just take it a little bit easier, New York."

She smiled slightly at him before grabbing her jacket and heading outside, where the rain was still thankfully holding off.

"Hey."

"Hi, Tyler." Amethyst greeted, walking by him without stopping. He fell into step next to her almost immediately.

"Sorry for yelling."

"Don't be. I yelled too."

He laughed slightly. "Boy, did you yell."

She cracked a smile, the first true one she was sure she had all day, and Tyler didn't miss it. "Hey, look at that. The ice queen can crack."

"Shut up," she replied softly, still partially smiling. "You don't know me."

"No," he agreed, steering her slightly toward the office, which she had been a building off from. "No one here does. But I think getting into an argument with you multiple times in one day should qualify for me being your best friend here."

"I don't have friends here, remember?"

"Fine, buddies, pals, companions with benefits, whatever you want to be." She raised an eyebrow at him as he kept a perfectly straight face, but he broke after a few seconds. "Maybe not."

"Maybe not." She agreed, standing in front of the office with him. Tyler had what seemed to be his trademark grin on his face as she turned to face him. "But I guess you're right."

He held up a hand as if to quiet a crowd, which they happened to be missing. "Sorry, you want to repeat that a bit louder?"

"No." A small smile played on her lips at his antics. "But maybe friends here wouldn't be the worst things in the world."

Tyler was about to say something else when the office door flew open and \ went straight into Amethyst's face.

"Oh, sorry, I had no-" the person stopped talking as Amethyst touched her lip and noticed blood came away with her finger. "I have to go."

Amethyst went to yell at the person, who she hadn't even seen yet, but found it was difficult to move her mouth. Tyler gaped at her as she touched her lip again, this time with a lot more blood on it.

"Here," a familiar voice came. Amethyst glanced over to see Emmett, the guy she had sat beside in class, holding out some napkins with a bottle of water in the other hand. "Sorry about that, Jasper is incredibly hemophobic and couldn't handle being here."

"Dude, he like split her face open!" Tyler exclaimed, moving to help Amethyst with trying to staunch the blood, only for her to wave him off.

"I know, he's really sorry, it just wouldn't have done any good for him to be here freaking out over the blood." Emmett had a bit of humor to his voice, but Amethyst had yet to figure out what was funny. "Here, the water bottle is frozen. Keep it wrapped and on your lip until the bleeding stops, then you can use Vaseline to help it heal up. If the bleeding doesn't stop in a few minutes, we can call my dad."

Amethyst felt her head spinning and was grateful Emmett seemed to be graceful despite his muscle bulk, as he helped her down to the ground slowly. She looked down and noticed her lip had bled enough there were drops on her shirt and went to frown, before realizing that hurt.

"You probably don't want to talk for a while either," he chuckled, seeming to notice her issue.

Tyler sat down next to her and pulled the water bottle away from her lip, happy to see the bleeding was slowing. He peered at the gash before blood bubbled up through it again, and he pushed the water bottle back to her lip. "I think you can go, Emmett. The bleeding is slowing and the cut looks small enough."

"Okay. If she does get worse, take her to see Carlisle. He'll fix her up in no time." Emmett paused, looking at Amethyst. "Jasper really is sorry. He just… Has issues."

Amethyst closed her eyes in dismissal, annoyed that she was now stuck on the ground outside the office with blood on her shirt and an intense dizzy feeling. After she heard Emmett pad away, her eyes opened to look at Tyler who was grinning. She narrowed her eyes at him, but he grin did not diminish.

"Welcome to Forks," he said, bursting into laughter as Amethyst reached over to smack his shoulder.


	3. Dare You To Move Lunch Tables

Amethyst came home to an empty house, something she greatly appreciated. While her mother was the newest trauma surgeon at Forks Hospital, her father was working as a lobbyist in Seattle and would stay out there for two weeks at a time before coming home for one.

She spent her night in silence, continuing to unpack and rearrange her room before giving in to sleep just after midnight. The next morning, she was shivering when she woke up, something she knew was never a good omen.

A warm shower chased her skivers away and she went to grab thick slate grey leggings and a loose, ruffled plum tank top. Pulling a navy shrug onto her shoulders, she walked to the mirror to begin her makeup routine. Highlights, lowlights, general contouring and then highlighting her eyes and lips. Amethyst spent special time with the right side of her face again; the bruise only slightly lighter than it was the day before. She made sure to pick out a lipstick that blended the cut on her lip in well, taking time to apply petroleum jelly to the cut like Emmett had recommended.

She twisted her naturally wavy hair up into a ballerina bun and slid into her favorite leather boots before heading for the door. Amethyst could hear someone moving in the kitchen and wasn't bothered to check who it was, intent on getting to school instead. Stopping only to grab a rain jacket, this time with a hood, Amethyst made her way through the drizzle to her car.

When she arrived at school, she noticed she was later than the day before and students were already moving inside. She grabbed a parking spot and went to follow them when Tyler began flagging her down. Shaking her head with a slight smile, Amethyst walked over to the tan boy who was flagging her down. The boy had waited half an hour with her the day before for her head to clear up, and had even taken her books to her locker and given the slip to the secretary inside.

"Hey, you came back," he laughed, meeting her halfway between their cars.

"Tried running to Canada. Passport was expired," she stated, pleased to see a surprised smile pull up on his mouth.

"Girl's got jokes!" Tyler slung an arm over her shoulder and began leading her toward her locker. "Also, your lip looks a lot better."

A dry look swept over Amethyst's face as she shrugged off his arm. "The power of petroleum jelly, ice and makeup."

"Really? You covered it with makeup?" He stopped to peer at her lip, making her roll her eyes and push him away. "What else are you covering with that stuff?"

Amethyst's hand froze for a fraction of a second over the door handle before smoothly opening it. "I'm really a witch. You know. Green skin, tons of warts."

"That explains so much," Tyler said, not taking his eyes off her face. "But seriously. No like third eye or Harry Potter scar?"

"Why so curious?" Amethyst checked her locker number against the one listed on her schedule, not looking up at him. There were thin scars on her face, but she knew they were as invisible as her black eye.

"Avoiding the question much?"

Amethyst looked up from her locker to glare at him but was surprised to see a third person had joined their party. She twitched an eyebrow up at the apparent model who was standing there, not saying anything.

"Can I help you with something?"

Tyler turned in surprise, finally seeing their addition. "Jasper."

He nodded at Tyler in recognition, eyes still on Amethyst. She felt her face harden immediately as she crossed her arms. "So are you here to apologize for splitting my face open? Or running off after you did?"

"Both," he said, tilting his head slightly toward her. "I was in a rush to get back to my siblings after an unsuccessful trip to the office. And when I noticed you were bleeding, I had to leave. Blood doesn't set well with me and I wouldn't have been any help. I was rude and apologize for that."

Tyler had explained who the Cullens were to her the day before and how they kept to themselves after moving from Alaska about two years previously. It certainly explained the paleness to his skin, but not the color of his eyes. The honey gold surprised and slightly repelled Amethyst, but she nodded toward him anyway before turning back to her locker to finish grabbing her books. She heard Jasper say something softer to Tyler before his footsteps headed off toward the door.

Finally closing her locker door with her morning books in her bag, she looked at Tyler who was staring at her.

"What, do you want me to sign something for you?"

The boy half smiled and tilted his head. "You're odd."

"Great. Thanks," she huffed as she went to walk toward her class.

His laugh echoed behind her as he quickly caught up and they headed back out into the rain. "All the girls here trip all over the Cullens. You just completely dismissed one of the single ones."

"He smacked me in the face with a door," she reminded him, heading toward building 4.

"And apologized."

"After running away."

Tyler laughed again, putting his hands up in mock surrender. "Whatever, your call. Hey, do you want to sit with actual people at lunch?" At her hesitant look, he continued. "They're chill and will make for much better conversation than me, you and your textbook."

Amethyst quirked the sides of her mouth up again. "We'll see." She separated from Tyler to head into her Calculus class. Mr. Gulden raised an eyebrow when she walked in, prompting her to walk over after putting her jacket up.

"Still slumming it with our class?" He said with a smile.

"I honestly forgot to ask about transferring, but I think I'll stay anyway. You said we could come up with a challenge. I can tutor and do some extra coursework we agree on."

He nodded lightly, studying her. "I like the idea of tutoring. We'll see if we can put you on the list this late into the year, and then we can find some kind of major project or other book for you to work through." Amethyst nodded and went to walk back to the seat she had the day before. "Glad to have you with us."

That was something she kept hearing. So, instead of responding, she took her seat and repeated her routine from the previous day, something that was steady through lunch time. Tyler was waiting for her by the cafeteria doors and grinned at her as they walked in together.

"So why did you not try to drag me to your friends yesterday?" Curiosity got the better of Amethyst as they waited to get their food.

Tyler shrugged. "You weren't going to move and it didn't really sound that fun to sit with them anyway."

"You didn't want to sit with your friends?"

"Not exactly. They're all great, but sometimes this place can wear on you. There was too much gossip flying around for me yesterday and I figured sitting with a silent person had to be better than dealing with the rumors that she moved here because she failed out of school in New York or that she said she was probed by aliens so her parents had to bring her to a tiny part of the country to hide their embarrassment."

Amethyst turned from the food to stare at him. "That's what people are saying about me?"

"No, I just think it's funnier than the stuff they were actually saying. Just who is she and why is she here and stuff."

Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Amethyst picked up a fruit cup and some French fries before grabbing a water from the fridge. After paying, she waited for Tyler to finish up so he could lead her to the table.

"Speaking of rumors, what exactly did you tell the Government class about me yesterday?"

"Concerned what people think of you?" He tossed a grin at her over his shoulder to which she rolled her eyes. "Just that I had a run in with you. When they asked me about it, I told them I had literally collided with you."

Relief spread through her instantly that at least bad rumors weren't flying around about her yet, something the immediately pushed away. It didn't matter what they thought anyway.

"Hey Tyler!" A blonde guy called out to him as the pair approached an almost full table. "Bringing a new toy?"

"Nah, she's too chill for that." Tyler shoved the blonde over so there were two open chairs next to each other, leading Amethyst to slide in next to him. "Amethyst, this is everyone. Everyone, meet the new girl."

Amethyst pulled a face at Tyler's introduction, which he made right back, so she turned to look at the people at the table. They were all smiling at her which made her slightly unnerved. One of the faces was familiar to her, Amethyst realized. Before she could say anything about it, the Asian guy spoke up.

"Hey, I'm Eric Yorkie. I'm editor of the newspaper here. Angela Weber is one of my photographers," he nodded toward the girl Amethyst recognized from her Calculus class. "And then we have Ben Cheney, Lauren Mallory, Mike Newton and, of course, Tyler."

Amethyst nodded at each of them in turn, not really sure what to say. However, it seemed she wouldn't have to worry about it because Eric continued.

"Look, not to pry, but everyone on the newspaper wants to know. Why did you move here?"

"Forget the newspaper," the blonde girl leaned in. "The whole school wants to know."

Amethyst raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter?"

"Of course!" Eric practically exploded. "A new girl in the middle of the year from New York City. That never happens around here."

"Come on, just tell us something. All anyone knows is that your mom works at Forks Hospital now." Lauren continued, building on Eric's statement.

"Guys, come on," a softer voice came from Angela. "Leave her be, I'm sure the move is weird enough."

"Yeah, she's already had enough excitement for the entire year." Tyler grinned at her. "Not only did we get extra homework in government because of each other, she also got hit in the face by Jasper Hale."

"What?" Echoed around the table from everyone, Lauren's hand tightening on her fork.

"And he came to apologize to her."

"Really, Tyler," Amethyst said exasperatedly. "It's not that big of a deal."

"You seemed to think it was quite a big deal when you wouldn't even address him when he came to apologize."

"You what?" Lauren almost snarled, making Amethyst raise her eyebrows.

"Drop it, okay? From what I can tell the Cullens get enough attention. I'm not going to give them more," she replied, spearing the first piece of her fruit salad.

"You're insane." The blonde challenged, glaring at the girl who simply shrugged and continued eating.

The table was quiet for a while longer as they all turned to their food. Amethyst kicked Tyler under the table who jokingly glared back at her before turning to strike up a conversation with Mike.

"Did something actually happen?" The girl to Amethyst's right voiced quietly and she turned to make eye contact with Angela.

She shrugged slightly. "He wasn't looking where he was going and accidently hit me with a door. It was probably my fault for standing outside the office anyway."

"They're staring over here," Lauren said, looking at something over Amethyst's shoulder.

The girl glanced behind her, seeing two pairs of the odd honey gold color focused on her table while the other three stared off into space in different directions. Amethyst made eye contact with Emmett and pulled the corner of her mouth up, wiggling her fingers at him. He returned the gesture with an amused grin as Amethyst continued to avoid eye contact with Jasper Hale.

"Did he just wave at you?" She turned around at Angela's surprised comment and shrugged lightly.

"I waved first."

Lauren stood up from the table, glaring in Amethyst's direction as she went up and tossed her tray.

"Don't let her bother you," Ben said with a grin, leaning across Angela. "She's got something up her ass."

"She didn't," Amethyst replied, switching to her French fries after taking a long drink of water.

Tyler laughed to her left, making everyone look toward him. "Amethyst has something even bigger up her ass, apparently."

Chuckles passed around the table just before the bell rang, leading them to all go toss their food. Amethyst stuck her half full water bottle into her bag and followed Tyler out to gym.

"You know I didn't mean that." Amethyst looked up in surprise to see an apologetic look on his face.

"You're kidding me. You think the worst thing someone has said about me is that I have something up my ass?"

Tossing a grin over her shoulder, Amethyst walked to her appropriate locker room. She pulled her gym clothes she had received from Coach Clapp the day before out of her locker along with a pair of tennis shoes and changed quickly. When they got to the actual gym, it was set up for two basketball games, something that made Amethyst groan to herself.

The rest of the day passed without incident, other than Emmett apologizing one more time for the previous day when she settled in next to him for government. She passed it off with a wave, excited to see how the class would go that day.

Tyler waited for her as she packed up for the end of the day, walking to her locker with her to drop off her unnecessary books.

"So where do you live?" he questioned as they walked away from a stop at his locker.

"Out on Merchants Road," Amethyst replied, digging through her bag for her keys. "About 15 minutes away."

"Hey, I live off Merchants Road!" A smile pulled on her mouth at his excitement. "We should carpool."

She huffed, finding her keys finally at the bottom of her bag. "Look, I don't need a babysitter or a boyfriend."

"What happened to companions with benefits? I was game for that." Tyler waggled his eyebrows, making Amethyst actually laugh as she shoved him away lightly. "I just figured it would be nice to make the drive with someone. Plus it'll save on gas."

"Only if you drive. I like to sleep on my commutes."

"Deal," he laughed, pulling out a notebook and scribbling down an e-mail address and a phone number. "Here, hit me up tonight and we'll figure out the trip."

Amethyst took the paper with a small smile, waving over her shoulder as she began to head toward her car. Looking up from the slip, she noticed all five Cullens standing outside of a silver Volvo. The twins, Rosalie and Jasper Hale, seemed to be glaring at each other while the small one, Alice, was smiling at them. Emmett had his eyebrows up in surprise, a grin playing its way onto his lips while the final one, Edward, had a dark look on his face. They seemed to notice her gaze and all turned to her in one motion.

Raising an eyebrow at the odd occurrence, Amethyst sarcastically blew a kiss at them before unlocking her car and climbing in. She sighed once inside, not necessarily happy to be going home, but glad to drive away from the people in the school.

Her drive seemed to crawl through the downpour that opened suddenly while she was trying to merge onto the interstate, taking much longer than the 15 minutes she had told Tyler. Glad to be parking, Amethyst pulled in to an unfortunately crowded driveway. She stared at the rain in contempt for a minute before pulling her hood up and sprinting from her car to the front door.

When she walked inside, the sound of the television from the family room made her want to run up the stairs, but her mother called to her from the kitchen first.

"Amethyst, in here. Now."

Closing her eyes unhappily, Amethyst hung her coat up in the front hall before going to the kitchen where her mother and father were both standing with their arms crossed.

"Welcome home, Dad," she tried softly with a small smile that was not returned by either parent.

"Why did I have to hear from Dr. Cullen today that your lip had been split open by his son?" Her mother, Carla, challenged with a raised eyebrow, a look Amethyst copied perfectly when she needed it.

Sighing slightly, she slid into a chair at the dining table. "You guys weren't here last night and I was running late for school this morning."

"Don't lie to us," Dave stepped forward threateningly, and Amethyst winced as little as possible at her father's actions. "What did we tell you about staying out of trouble here?"

"It was an accident that didn't cause any trouble. He opened a door too quickly and I just happened to be behind it."

"Oh, so now it's his fault?"

"I never said that."

"Damn right you didn't." Dave grabbed her by her arm tightly and pulled her up. "If I hear that you've messed with any of your mother's boss's children again, you will regret it. Have I made myself clear?"

"Dad, it was an accident," she tried again, trying to wrestle her arm out of his grip. "I was going to the office to drop off my paperwork and it just happened to be at the same time he was leaving."

Before she could say anything more, her head was forced to the left. The stinging sensation was almost in the same spot where her bruise was working on healing from two weeks ago.

"Can't you do anything right?" Dave sneered at her.

"Can't you?" Amethyst challenged, glaring up at him. "You're the reason we had to move here in the first place."

Bracing herself for another hit, she was surprised to be thrown away from him instead.

"Get out of my sight."

Dave left the room, probably to go back to watch whatever was on television. An ice pack was thrown at her by her mother, who then went back to whatever she had been doing. Amethyst put it to her face, grabbed her backpack and went up to her room without another word.

She did her homework in silence and only stopped to pull out her laptop. She tapped at the keys gently while waiting for it to boot, trying to figure out how she wanted to sound. Once it finally started, Amethyst quickly typed out an e-mail to Tyler about not bothering to come pick her up, that she would be fine the next day.

The ice pack had caused the strike to not swell as much as it would otherwise, Amethyst noticed with slight pleasure. She wiped her makeup off slowly and carefully, noticing a minor red mark seemed to be the worst she would have to cover. Although, it had caused the bruise around her eye to deepen where the hits overlapped on the upper part of her cheek, bringing another sigh to her lips. Deciding that was a problem for the next day, she unrolled her hair and changed into a t-shirt and shorts.

Laying in bed, she felt guilty telling Tyler no. She wanted to share a ride with him, as he was really growing on her. But she knew she couldn't make too many friends in town. There was no reason to make connections that would fall away as soon as they found out or as soon as she could get out of there, whichever would come first.

Amethyst pressed her eyes closed tightly, trying not to think about the looks on all of her friends faces from New York when they heard. After all, it was front page news, something she would do everything to avoid while she was here.

Refusing to cry, the girl attempted to force herself to feel nothing and drift to sleep, a goal she did not accomplish until the very early hours of the morning.


	4. Dare You To Move Away From The Window

The next day, Amethyst pulled on light wash ripped jeans, a black and white striped shirt with a silver scarf and laced up some black wedges. Noticing a darkening bruise on her arm, she grabbed her tan leather jacket out of the closet and slid it on as well. Her makeup had taken longer than expected that morning because of the bruise and she was close to actually running late to school, so she left her hair natural and ran down the stairs. Thanking whatever being had the power over the rain, she walked out into the surprisingly dry day, grabbing an umbrella just in case.

The drive to school was quick, and she jumped out of her car the minute she parked. Thankfully, she was late enough Tyler apparently hadn't been able to wait for her, so she hurried to her first class instead, only smiling at Angela before the class began.

She slid into her physics class for second period, intent on not acknowledging anything. Her plan was instantly broken by a voice she wasn't expecting.

"Hi," the voice came, almost like bells. "I'm Alice."

Amethyst looked at the girl standing beside her desk in surprise. Alice Cullen seemed to be even more gorgeous close up, which created a twinge of annoyance within her. Everything was so perfect about the girl, other than her oddly colored eyes that Amethyst could not bring herself to get past. "Amethyst," she replied shortly, looking back down at her notebook for the class.

"You won't need that today, silly." The brunette raised an eyebrow at the playful tone of voice. "Today is group work, and you're in my group."

Thinking back, Amethyst realized it was Wednesday, which meant they would be working on their semester project. She bit back a sigh of annoyance, but nodded toward Alice. "Should I move?"

"Nah." The small girl smiled brightly, taking a seat next to Amethyst. "Let everyone else move their desks over to us."

A grin pulled at the corner of Amethyst's lips as the people walking inside did exactly that until eight people were in the room, divided into two groups. The two others in her group looked at Alice expectantly, so Amethyst followed their lead.

Alice pulled out a notebook filled with impeccable notes, Amethyst noted slightly sourly. She flipped to a divider where everything for the group project was contained, and the taller girl felt an eyebrow slip up at how empty the pages were.

"We're working on an analysis project that we haven't actually had time to analyze yet," Alice explained with a small smile. "Our project involves predicting and analyzing splatter patterns as they relate to direction, substance and force. So in class, we've mainly been working on putting together what we want to test and calculating our predictions."

Amethyst reached over to take the notebook from Alice, flipping through the scant notes. "When were you planning on testing?"

"We were trying to wait for a sunny day so we could test outside, but Alice always goes out of town on nice days," the girl from across the table – Mallory – said.

Alice shrugged her statement off. "My family loves camping and goes every time it's nice outside."

"So when?" Amethyst pushed.

"Well, we can't do it at my house. I have too many siblings," James replied, looking up from his notebook for the first time.

"My parents work weird hours and won't let people over," Amethyst said quickly, realizing where the situation was going.

"My house wouldn't be great." Alice frowned slightly. "We don't really have an area where we could test this appropriately."

Mallory pulled at a strand of her hair and sighed. "I can ask my parents if we can use the basement or garage. I can't guarantee anything."

The group quickly worked out times Mallory could ask her parents about and traded contact information before Amethyst pulled out her laptop to type up a spreadsheet of what the group had pulled together up to that point. Once the bell rang, three of them exchanged awkward smiles while Alice beamed at them all, before heading to their next classes.

Amethyst checked back out until lunch, when her expectations were not disappointed by Tyler leaning near the cafeteria entrance. She walked right past him, unsurprised when he fell into step with her anyway.

"Look. I didn't offend you yesterday, did I? I really just wanted to have someone to share the drive with and didn't mean anything by it."

"I know you didn't." Amethyst got into line, still not looking at Tyler.

He wasn't going to back down, though, moving into her line of sight. "Then we're okay? You weren't avoiding me this morning?"

"No, I was just running late," she replied, thankful it was only half a lie leaving her mouth.

Tyler nodded slowly as they both grabbed trays. "So everything is okay then?"

"Just peachy," she muttered, grabbing a bowl of soup and her drink before going to pay. Amethyst walked away from the cashier without waiting for Tyler, which prompted him quickly pay before moving to catch up with her.

"Amethyst-" he reached out and grabbed her arm in the exact same spot her dad had the day before. Amethyst surprised everyone, including herself, when she cringed in pain and went to pull away from his grip at the same time, causing her to jerk just a bit too much.

Her tray went crashing to the floor, but Amethyst hardly acknowledged it. Instead, tears welled up in her eyes as pain slowly spread down her front from hot soup soaking through her shirt. She looked up to see Tyler staring at her in open-mouthed shock, and that most of the cafeteria had a similar reaction, except for those who were already laughing.

Her eyes unwillingly swept the room until she found those odd honey colored eyes, where all five sets were trained on her. There were various degrees of surprise and concern across four faces, but anger was the predominant expression on one face. Edward's face wiped as she acknowledged his expression, but she barely processed it. Instead, Amethyst noticed she was still standing in front of the cafeteria, soaked with vegetable soup.

Tyler reached out to her again, but she turned away and pushed her way out of the cafeteria instead, refusing to allow the tears in her eyes to fall. She finally found the bathroom and breathed a sigh that it was thankfully empty. Climbing into a stall, Amethyst pulled her jacket and shirt off, using toilet paper to wipe at her skin. She spent special time wiping around her two largest scars – one crossing her abdomen, another on the upper right side of her chest. Finally having removed all the burning liquid, she looked down at the ruined shirt in dismay.

"Amethyst?" A soft voice called into the bathroom, making the girl freeze up. "It's Angela."

"What do you want?" Amethyst asked, realizing her voice lacked any real conviction.

Angela's shoes appeared under the stall door. "I brought you a new shirt. It's just one of the ones from the gym but I explained what happened to Coach and he was happy to give me an extra…" Amethyst wrapped an arm around her abdomen as she listened to Angela. "I can pass it over the door for you."

Although she didn't reply, Amethyst found herself unsurprised a shirt appeared over the top of the stall door. She reached up, careful to use her uninjured arm, and pulled the shirt over her head. It was large on her and unflattering, but better than wearing the under armor or shirt she would wear in gym class for the rest of the day. She did slide her jacket back on before exiting the stall, pausing at Angela's smiling face.

"Thank you," she said softly, walking around the other girl to get to the sink.

Angela followed her, making eye contact in the mirror. "Are you okay? Tyler was really concerned."

Amethyst felt her grip tighten on her soiled shirt for a moment, before turning on the tap for warm water. "I'm fine. The soup didn't burn me." The skin was a bit raw and pink, but she knew it hadn't been hot enough to actually cause any damage.

"He was concerned you emotionally, too." The taller girl studied the brunette. "He said it looked like you were going to cry."

Amethyst snorted. "Forgive me for being in pain when hot liquid covered half my body."

Angela's lips pressed together, slightly obviously displeased with the response. Amethyst ignored her look, instead running her shirt under the warm water to attempt to keep it from staining. "Tyler's a really good guy."

"I never questioned that." Amethyst pumped some soap into her hand and used it to scrub at the top.

"Then why are you being so polar to him? And everyone else?"

An eyebrow drifted up her forehead at the seemingly so calm girl, who had a rather frustrated look on her face. Amethyst sighed, turning the water off and wringing her shirt out.

"Look, thanks for helping. But I don't need friends here. I'm not looking to make any, either." She squeezed her shirt one final time before shaking it out and draping it over her arm.

"Why not?"

"Why should I?"

"Because you're human," Angela replied, looking surprised. "You're in a new place and people need support when they have to face new challenges in their lives. Even if it's just someone you can call when everything seems overwhelming, everyone needs a person in their lives. And you really don't want anything like that?"

There was truth to the girl's words, but Amethyst wasn't about to tell her that. "I don't need it. I'm not here to make friends."

"Fine, then why are you here?" Angela was obviously unhappy with the other girl's answers, which were beginning to push on her nerves.

Amethyst turned to look in the mirror, making sure her makeup was still in place. "My parents wanted out of New York. I'm 16 and didn't have a say." Noticing the other girl's eyes soften again in the mirror, Amethyst reached into her bag and pulled out her cover up so she could layer on more over her bruise.

"Even though it wasn't the best situation that brought you here, it doesn't mean you have to hate it so much."

"You're right." Amethyst snapped the compact closed. "I don't have to hate it here. And I suppose I don't. But I also don't see the point in making friends when everything will just fall apart eventually anyway."

"Why would you say something like that?"

"Everything always does." She stepped around the taller girl as the bell rang and walked to her gym class with her head held high, despite the whispers echoing around her.

When she reached glass, she grabbed the long-sleeve under armor from her bag along with her other gym clothes before utilizing the dividers to get changed. When she exited the locker room, she could feel Tyler's eyes focused on her as whispers started up again. Ignoring them, Amethyst took her spot and began to stretch out.

The looks and whispered comments fluttered around her for the rest of the day, and she sighed with relief the moment the bell rang to dismiss the students for the day. Amethyst waited for everyone to leave, but was surprised when Emmett Cullen was one of the last ones left in the classroom with her.

"You okay there?" He asked, a grin stretching across his face. "Lunch looked a little rough today."

"I'm fine," she grumbled, shoving the last of her books into her bag and getting up.

Emmett followed her. "You didn't look too fine. I mean, it looked like Tyler barely touched you and you dumped soup down yourself."

"Great, nice to know I looked like a total spaz while also looking like a bitch." Amethyst considered going to her locker for a brief moment, but decided against having to deal with the crowded hallways.

Emmett trailed behind her. "Easy there, that wasn't what I was saying."

"Of course not," she muttered, opening her umbrella as she got closer to the student lot.

"I just want to know if you need to talk about anything."

She stopped instantly, twirling around to stare him down. "Excuse you?"

His hands went into the air instantly. "I didn't mean anything by it." He didn't wither under Amethyst's intense glare, something that kind of surprised her.

"Why would I need to talk about anything? Especially with someone who has only spoken to me before when it involved his brother hitting me in the face?"

"What is with you and picking arguments?" Emmett stared at the girl, amazed she had so much rage within her. "Can't you get along with people?"

"Yes, I can get along with people and yes, I can make friends. I just don't want to here. It doesn't matter. Nothing here matters." The last part of her statement came out with so much passion Emmett found himself staring at her again. "I wasn't expecting Tyler to grab me and didn't have a great grip on my tray. It was off balance and just happened to tilt the wrong way. Now back off."

She stormed off toward her car, wishing she had a place to escape from everyone, her parents included. That thought made her freeze, realizing with whom exactly she had just decided to pick a fight.

Fear gripped at her, and she spun to find the Cullen's car, grateful when she saw they had not left yet. Two pairs of honey gold eyes met hers immediately, both with thinly veiled surprise as she headed in their direction.

"Emmett, may I speak with you?" He was one of the last to move his eyes toward her.

"Why? You told me to back off."

"Please." Her voice was soft enough that it seemed to take him by surprise, so he nodded and followed her a few steps away from his car.

"What's wrong?" Emmett asked, looking over her face.

Trying to change her expression back to neutral, she took a breath. "Please, don't tell your dad I dumped soup on myself. Or picked an argument with you."

Both of his eyebrows shot up as a small huff left him in surprise. "What?"

"Please, don't say anything to your dad. If you do, tell him not to say anything to my mom. It'll just worry her, and she really shouldn't be distracted right now." Amethyst attempted to explain the situation without actually explaining it.

"You mean you aren't going to tell her?"

"I just don't want to bother her with something so silly. You know how it is with parents." She kept eye contact through the entire conversation, hoping that would be enough to convince him.

He nodded slowly, keeping his gaze steadily on hers. "Sure. We'll inform Carlisle."

"Thank you," she breathed out, already turning back toward her car. Amethyst quickly glanced over to the rest of the Cullens and nodded to Alice, ignoring the other three stares as she gripped her umbrella tighter.

The rest of the week was quiet, at least in comparison to her first few days. Lunch was spent in silence at an empty table, working away at homework so there was less to do at home. People in her classes rarely spoke to her, instead choosing to whisper about her in plain sight. The school had agreed to add her on the list of math tutors but would not assign her any students until after winter break. Her major project in photography was coming along well, as she was working to capture water movement and reactions. Amethyst was happy with the essay she handed in a day early to government about the WPA, and thought she would be relieved school was over for the weekend and she would have two days away from the whispers and judging looks.

However, getting away from high schoolers did nothing to keep her safe from her parents. She hid away in her room, buried in the next book on her reading list for literature most of the weekend. Amethyst's parents only bothered her at meal time, and even that wasn't a regular occurrence. They would often decide to go out to eat without her, allowing her to go downstairs and grab snacks or more water without worrying about confronting them.

Saturday passed without incident, but Sunday proved to be more challenging. The sun finally peaked out from behind the clouds for the first time since her family had moved to Forks, so Amethyst opened her window and leaned out, pleased by the lack of screen but abundance of fresh air.

She settled in under the window to continue working her way through _Fallen Angels_. She lost track of time as she fell into the world of battle and struggle, enthralled by the characters and storyline Myers created.

However, before she was halfway through the book, a bird shot in through her window, making her scream in shock. The bird seemed just as startled as Amethyst, flying around in circles and cawing, upset by the fact it felt trapped in the room.

Amethyst jumped up, attempting to shoo the bird back out the window with her book, but it didn't seem to be able to figure out how to get to the window. Her door was thrown open, her father glaring angrily into the room.

"What the hell is going on in here?" he yelled, ducking and cursing in surprise when the bird came straight toward him and down the stairs. Dave turned to stare at Amethyst, who was standing with her book still in the air, partially frozen by shock. "Go get it out of the house!" He demanded, and the girl jumped into action.

Running downstairs, Amethyst grabbed a towel before throwing the front door open. The bird was still making just as much noise as it was upstairs, the caws eventually meeting with her mother's scream. Amethyst rushed toward the family room where the sound had come from to see the bird flying over her mother's head.

Amethyst shook the towel at the bird to get it away from Carla as her screaming continued, a move she didn't think through very well. The bird flew over to a lamp, knocking it over in its panic.

Trying to keep it from breaking anything else, Amethyst opened the towel to wrap around the bird, but it had other plans, heading into the kitchen. She followed it quickly as it knocked over a glass from the counter, managing to shatter that as well. The noise seemed to scare the bird toward the front door, where Amethyst was finally able to get it out with a few more snaps of the towel.

She found herself laughing as she pushed the door closed behind the bird, the whole situation seeming incredibly odd and almost impossible, until suddenly she wasn't laughing anymore. Instead, Amethyst found herself on the ground, winded.

"What the hell was that?" Dave screamed at her, Carla just over his shoulder.

"Nothing, I had just opened my window," she gasped out, biting her lip when a kick followed almost exactly where the punch had just landed on her stomach. She could smell the alcohol practically rolling off him now that the excitement was over.

"And why would you do that?"

"It was just so nice outside-"

A glob of spit landed on her face, shutting her up instantly. Amethyst reached up and touched it in shock, staring back up at her father. "You're going to pay for the lamp and the glass. But you're such an idiot; I'd be surprised if you could get a job to pay for it anyway."

Carla laughed over Dave's shoulder, slowly breaking Amethyst's heart more.

"You're not even worth it," came her father's last words before he walked back to the living room with his wife, leaving Amethyst on the floor.

She didn't stay there long, instead making herself an ice pack before running back upstairs to the bathroom. She stared at the girl in the mirror with a greenish-purple right eye and cheek with small, jagged scars covering most of her face. The spit had dried, leaving a small mark where it had landed. Amethyst considered her reflection without interest, distancing herself as much as possible from the girl she was seeing.

As she wet a wash cloth to wipe away the dried spit from her face, tears began to drip without her consent. She was struggling to breathe for more than one reason as reality hit her, causing her to grip the sink tightly.

Amethyst looked back up in the mirror at all her marks, almost unable to believe a single person could cause so much damage to her. More specifically, how her father could treat his daughter as if she was worth less than the dirt on which he walked.


	5. Dare You To Move Closer To Your Friends

Amethyst had very seriously considered not going to school when she woke up, and yet there she was, having another glaring contest with the maroon buildings. The rain was back after the temporary beautiful weather, echoing Amethyst's mood shockingly well.

She kept her head high as she walked through Forks High School, noticing most of the whispers around her had faded away anyway. She spun the dial on her locker and reached in to grab her morning class books with a sigh when she noticed the whispers were getting loud again. Amethyst slammed her locker shut, completely done with rumors and drama, and turned straight into what felt like a brick wall.

One of her hands immediately flew to her bruised cheek while the other wrapped around her abdomen; of course she had managed to smack both of the tenderest parts of her body. Amethyst looked up with a glare as laughs began to echo around her, noticing for the first time there were hands on her shoulders to steady her. Hands connected to Jasper Hale.

"Are you intent on injuring me every Monday I'm here?" she grumbled, brushing his hands off her shoulders once she could breathe.

A small frown twitched on the corners of his mouth. "No, and I'm sorry you have that thought of me."

"Why are you even talking to me?" Amethyst pulled her book bag higher on her shoulder before turning toward her next class. "Doesn't your family avoid all human contact or something?"

A ghost of a smirk twitched over Jasper's face, something Amethyst didn't miss. "We don't avoid contact."

"Right, so what do you call never speaking to anyone unless it's for a class, and even then only doing as much as you have to so you can get by?"

"Exactly what you're doing." Amethyst stopped outside her first class, a few feet away from the door, not looking directly into Jasper's unnerving golden eyes. "Our parents just wanted us to ask how you were doing, since your mother works with Carlisle."

"Why do you call your dad by his first name? Emmett was doing that too," Amethyst avoided both comments carefully, not really wanting to address them.

"You know he's our adoptive father. Esme is our aunt who took Rosalie and I in after our parents passed."

She fiddled with the strap on her bag. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"They may as well be my real parents, though. They're good people. Which is why they wanted me to ask about you."

Amethyst pushed her lips to the side of her face before looking up to make eye contact for the first time. She fully intended to question why they sent him to check on her when she had spent more time with two of his other siblings, when she noticed something odd.

"Did you get contacts?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Your eyes. They were like honey gold or whatever last week. Now they're very… amber."

He raised an eyebrow at her and let a smile tug up on the side of his mouth. "Stare at my eyes a lot?"

Blood rushed to her cheeks, making it rather difficult to counter his statement. "It's difficult to not when I can feel them piercing my back every day."

Jasper stiffened. "I can see this conversation isn't going anywhere. You obviously weren't worth it." He shoved his hands into his pockets and turned to walk away. "Welcome to Forks."

Amethyst turned slowly to walk in to her class, surprised by the hurt that bubbled up in her stomach. She wrapped an arm around her torso again, careful not to apply too much pressure to her bruises as she walked inside.

Instead of taking her typical seat at the front beside Angela, Amethyst walked to the back of the classroom and sat by the window. She pulled out her notebook mechanically, wondering why Jasper's words had affected her so much. He certainly wasn't the first person she'd argued with in Forks, but none of them had really had an impact on her.

She kept away from Alice and Emmett in the classes they had together, slightly embarrassed at having argued with their brother. Amethyst gave up on eating in the cafeteria and instead sat in the library for the entire period, hoping no one would approach her.

It didn't really hit her until her final class was almost over why the words had seemed so damaging to her. They echoed what her father had told her the day before. In less than 24 hours, two people had told her she wasn't worth being treated like a human. Amethyst balled her fists as tears welled up into her eyes for the second time in that stupid school. She dug her nails into her palms to keep the tears from falling and brushed past everyone the instant the bell dismissed her. She walked to the student lot without looking back, finding her way to a blue and black van.

Amethyst leaned against the passenger side door, not looking at the other students around her as she felt sobs begin to shake her body. A hand was placed on her shoulder, and she turned to hug Tyler without another thought. He seemed a bit apprehensive, but wrapped his arms around her anyway as she cried onto his shoulder. He gently rubbed her back until the hardest part of the crying passed.

Reaching behind her, Tyler opened the passenger side door and gently pushed her in before climbing in on his side of the car. Amethyst didn't say anything as he pulled out of the lot and drove away in the opposite direction of their houses, instead picking at the bottom of her sweater peeking out from under her rain jacket.

She looked up when he parked, surprised to see they were in front of a restaurant. Tyler hopped out and gestured for her to do the same. Amethyst followed him out to The Lodge, looking around the restaurant with interest. It was a tacky place with stuffed animals on the walls, but the tables were decently crowded for a Monday afternoon. The pair slid into a booth and Tyler thanked the waitress when she handed them their menus.

"You have to try the cobbler here," Tyler said, flipping through the menu. "It's the best you'll find anywhere."

"I don't have any money," Amethyst said in a very quiet voice, picking at the cover on the menu.

He shrugged at her. "I'll cover you. You can buy the next one."

She looked up to see a giant grin on the boy's face as he flipped through the menu straight to the desserts. Amethyst couldn't resist a small smile tugging at her mouth as well.

"What if I don't like cobbler?"

Tyler put a hand over his heart in shock and playfully gasped, bringing a small snort from Amethyst. "Not like cobbler? Well then you might as well just find your way back home on your own."

"Shut up," she said, a full grin pulling on her lips as she forewent her menu, instead moving over to Tyler's side of the table to look through the dessert menu with him.

The waitress came back and took their order, cobbler and a side of French fries for Tyler and an Oreo milkshake for Amethyst. The older lady smiled kindly at the pair of them before heading back to the kitchen.

Amethyst pulled back her sleeve to glance at her watch as silence stretched over the two of them. "Don't you have some kind of practice? Like football or basketball or whatever else you do?"

Tyler chuckled, shaking his head slightly at the girl. "Football season is over; the team was pretty not great this year. Basketball works Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, so I'm all yours."

Silence fell between the two of them again, but Amethyst wore a soft smile. Tyler didn't want to push the girl, instead letting her speak when she wanted to. Finally, she turned to make eye contact with him for the first time.

"Cobbler and French fries?"

His laugh made Amethyst smile, something she appreciated. "Salty and sweet, baby. Food, similar to life, is all about balance."

Amethyst considered his words as their food was brought back to the table and Tyler dug in immediately. She poked around the whipped cream on top of her milkshake for a moment, watching with slight disgust as he shoveled the food into his mouth. Noticing her gaze on him, the boy looked up with an eyebrow raised and a grin on his face. He reached over and scooped some of her whipped cream off the top of her milkshake, causing her to begin protesting and steal a fry in vengeance.

After they ate and Tyler paid the check, the pair walked out into the chilly November air. He pulled open the rear doors on his van and they sat in the back, watching cars fly by on the interstate. Amethyst mindlessly swung her legs as Tyler fiddled with his hands, obviously trying to figure out what to say.

Amethyst sighed, deciding to put him out of his misery. "I'm sorry."

Tyler shook his head, not looking at her. "I don't need you to be sorry. I need to know if you're okay."

"I'm not," she replied, carefully choosing her words. She pulled her knees up to her chest in a protective gesture, careful not to put too much pressure on her abdomen. "I'm not okay."

"Tell me about it," he said softly, turning to look at her.

The girl instead shook her head, still not meeting his eyes. "No."

He sighed, running his hands over his short brown hair. They sat in silence for a moment before he laughed slightly, letting out visible puffs of breath. "I have no idea what to do about you."

"What do you mean?"

"Amethyst, I want to be your friend. I'm not trying to hook up with you, okay? I just really wanted you to feel welcomed and know that you could belong here. You aren't exactly making that easy on me, though."

She picked at her leather boots, taking in his honesty. "I'm sorry."

"I told you, that's not what I care about."

"Look, I have issues," Amethyst said, turning to look directly at the boy. "Things I don't really want to share with anyone. It doesn't really matter if we're friends or not, I don't want to talk about them with anyone. They're my issues so I have to deal with them."

"But it doesn't have to be alone." Frustration came through in his voice, making Amethyst wince. "That's what I've been trying to tell you from the beginning. You don't have to be alone here."

"I might not have to be alone, but there are some things I do have to go though on my own. Everyone has issues like that."

Tyler didn't reply, instead looking away from the girl back to the road. She followed his lead, watching cars blur by without any interest. An arm came around her shoulders moments later, surprising her.

The pair sat in silence for a while before Amethyst checked her watch again. "We should be getting home."

Tyler looked at her watch as well with a sigh. "My mom's probably freaked." They climbed out of the back of the van and heaved the doors shut before climbing in to the cab.

The radio filled their silence as they drove back to the high school, where Amethyst's car was the only one left in the student lot. She climbed out of the van and walked over to unlock her doors. Noticing Tyler hadn't pulled away yet, she tossed her bag in and went over to his window, which he rolled down for her.

"Will you give me a ride to school tomorrow?" She asked softly, causing his face to split into a grin, which disappeared just as quickly.

"I would, but it doesn't seem fair to make you wait for me all the way through practice."

Amethyst nodded slowly. "What about Wednesday? And then after school maybe we could go job hunting?"

She offered no explanation at his raised eyebrow, so he shrugged slightly instead. "Sure, why not. I will see you tomorrow, though."

"See you tomorrow," she stepped away from the van with a smile as he rolled his window back up. He honked as he pulled away, making her smile grow.

The house was silent when she walked in, meaning her mom was at work while her father had gone back to Seattle. Amethyst shrugged off her coat before heading to the kitchen so she could put together a hot water bottle to keep on her stomach while doing her homework.

She left the kettle on as she went upstairs, grabbing a makeup wipe from the bathroom and slowly beginning to uncover her face. The scars wouldn't ever fade, but her bruises were looking much better, her black eye almost back to normal while her cheek had begun to turn green. The bruise on her arm was fading as well, much to her relief.

Amethyst cleaned the last of her makeup off her face and looked away from the mirror, not wanted to see the result. She walked downstairs and poured some boiling water into her hot water bottle, going back upstairs to start her homework. She groaned with relief as the heat began to relax away the knots in her stomach before focusing on her half finished physics problems.

Her homework went quickly, leaving her time to work through the rest of her book for literature. She had just settled back into the Vietnam era when keys in the door echoed through the silent house, meaning her mother was home. Amethyst sighed lightly, getting up to close her door before climbing back into bed. She laid on her stomach with the hot water bottle underneath her as she read. Her mother's shoes were loud on the wooden stairs before Carla went into the master bedroom. Amethyst worked to ignore the noises as she found herself reading the same sentence over and over again without absorbing it.

Her breath came back a bit more evenly when her mother went back downstairs, leaving her to actually focus on her book. However, Amethyst only got through about half a page before feet pounding back up the stairs surprised her. The door flew open, showing her extremely pissed mother.

"Mom, what-" Amethyst went to say, but was cut off when her mother came over and grabbed a fist full of her hair. Gasping in surprise, the girl found herself being hauled off her bed, barely managing to stay on her feet.

Carla dragged her daughter down the stairs, not responding to any of the pleas as she wrapped her arm tighter in the brunette's hair and dragging her into the kitchen. She threw the girl toward the oven, not flinching as Amethyst's hip hit the door and she reached to catch herself on the stove. The girl cried out in pain pulling her hand away from the stove, staring at her palm.

"Hot, isn't it?" Carla sneered, looking at the girl with contempt. "Were you trying to burn the house down?"

"What're you talking about?" Amethyst screamed back, still staring at her reddening palm.

"Your stupid ass left the stove on unattended for God knows how long! Why would you be so stupid as to do something like that?"

Realization crossed the girl's face quickly. "No, Mom, I didn't mean to-"

"Of course you didn't mean too. You were just too stupid to realize." Carla rolled her eyes, reaching around her daughter to turn the burner off. "Get out of my sight."

"I'm sorry, Mom," Amethyst pleaded to her mother, still cradling her palm.

"You're obviously not otherwise you would have quit trying to ruin our lives here in Forks! I shouldn't have wasted my time with you on the table."

There is was again. The fact that she was a waste of time. Her mother had been the one to operate on her after the crash, and she apparently didn't find that it had been worth her time. Amethyst felt tears well up in her eyes for the second time that day but refused to cry again. Instead, she turned and sprinted away from her mother to the back door, slamming it closed behind her before running to the edge of the forest in her back yard.

All of the contents from her stomach came back up as soon as she hit the line, causing her to bend over. Amethyst reached out to grab a tree to steady herself, crying out when she used her burnt hand to do so. Stepping over the pile of puke with her bare feet, Amethyst stepped into the forest just enough that her neighbors wouldn't see her.

She knew she was a wreck. Not only was she barefoot, the rain had soaked straight through her sweater and jeans in the 30 seconds she had run through it, and the trees only provided minimal shelter. The bruise was still visible on her eye, and now she had scalded her dominant hand on the stupid stove.

Her hip ached as she practically collapsed on the forest floor, exhausted. Before the accident, she hadn't gotten along with her parents, but they hadn't gone as far as to leave her with bruises. Then again, when her dad was a congressman in New York City, she couldn't exactly walk around with physical signs of abuse. After he had ruined everything, Amethyst's parents had turned against her, as if it had all been her fault. As if she could control what other people did.

Amethyst stayed in the forest for an unknown period of time, trying to catch her breath and gather her thoughts. She had no idea what time it was when she heard a twig snap near her, making her spin her head instantly. Holding her breath, Amethyst stood up slowly, looking around her in distrust.

Seeing nothing, Amethyst slowly backed out of the forest, careful to step around the pile of vomit sitting on the tree line. She sprinted through the rain back to her house, grateful the back door had at least been left unlocked for her. She wiped her feet off as much as possible and was careful to avoid the carpets as she made her way upstairs. Her soaked clothes went in the laundry basket before Amethyst toweled herself off, wringing out her hair and cleaning her feet from the mud.

After cleaning herself up and redressing, Amethyst went back to dry the water she had tracked through the house, grateful her mother was already in bed. She threw the towel in with her other wet clothes, put together an ice pack for her hip and hand before going to crawl into her bed.

Sleep was fitful that night, and Amethyst felt like trash as she got up the next day. She didn't pay as much attention to what she did in her morning routine, only careful with her concealer to make sure nothing showed on her face.

She couldn't shake a feeling of apprehension her entire way to school, making her incredibly uncomfortable. Amethyst pulled into a parking spot, gratefully noticing Tyler was already there. She joined his group standing outside of his van with a small smile. Tyler and Angela smiled at her happily while Mike, Eric and Ben seemed surprised by her appearance. Lauren, however, seemed none too pleased when Tyler threw his arm around Amethyst and squeezed her shoulder in greeting.

"Why do the Cullens always stare when you're with us?" Lauren asked snidely after a few minutes, causing everyone to look at her in surprise. Amethyst turned to see five pairs of eyes were trained on her as the Cullens piled out of their car. She rolled her eyes at them, silently wishing they would just leave her alone.

"It's not exactly my call. Although, if you could make them stop, I'd appreciate it."

A few eyebrows were raised over her comment, but it passed a moment later when the first bell sounded. The group waved and split up for their classes, Amethyst and Angela heading to Calculus together.

Amethyst smiled and shook her head while putting her hand down after waving at Tyler extra as he blew teasing kisses at her. A gasp beside her made her turn in surprise to see Angela staring at her hand. The taller girl grabbed her wrist to stare at her hand closer, making Amethyst wince slightly.

"What did you do?" The kind girl fretted.

Amethyst attempted a weak laugh as her stomach churned. "I was clumsy yesterday. I had gone to make a cup of tea, turned on the wrong burner and put my hand down on it by accident. No big deal."

"Ouch," Angela winced, letting go of her hand. Amethyst internally sighed, glad she had passed it off without incident. "It looks pretty bad."

"My mom's a doctor, so we've got it under control," she replied with a small smile. Glad Angela seemed to believe her, Amethyst noticed the skin on her neck was prickling again.

She turned to see Edward and Jasper's eyes trained on her again, while Emmett seemed to be telling the blonde, Rosalie, something. Alice's face was screwed up as she stared at the ground, peaking Amethyst's curiosity, which she quickly forced back down. Instead, annoyed with the gazes, Amethyst threw a middle finger toward the pair staring her down. Edward's lips twitched up as Jasper simply looked away, letting her breathe a little more easily.

"What was that about?" Angela gasped out as the pair reached the building for their class.

Amethyst shrugged, sparing her a small smile. "Lauren was right. They do stare a lot, and I was tired of it."

The other girl let out a quiet laugh as they hung their coats up before settling into their chairs for the beginning of another day.


	6. Dare You To Move Toward Your Future

Amethyst considered her closet, wondering what was appropriate to wear while working on a physics project involving liquids. She walked from her room through her thankfully empty house and grabbed the cordless phone to bring back with her. Her fingers danced over the number she knew by heart at that point, holding it up to her ear.

"Hello, Crowley residence."

"Hi Mrs. Crowley, it's Amethyst. May I speak with Tyler please?"

She could hear the smile in the woman's voice through the phone. "Of course, one moment."

Amethyst pulled out a dress that she wondered why she still owned, quickly shoving it back into her closet.

"What now?"

"Physics project involving splattering liquids. What should I wear?"

His laugh echoed through the receiver, making her lips lift up. "Wouldn't Angela be a better friend for this?"

"Probably."

"And you called me anyway?"

"We're BFFLs now. I'd call you about anything."

"Biffles?"

"You know, best friends for life." Amethyst pulled out a crop top and cringed slightly at the thought of showing off her bruised abdomen. "You're my go-to for everything."

"I said I wanted to be friends. I don't know about all this extra commitment…" Tyler trailed off, making her smile again.

The pair had gone job hunting for Amethyst that Wednesday, Tyler patiently driving her to all the places in town to see if they were hiring. The school had given the students Thursday and Friday off for Thanksgiving, and the brunette had hidden in her room away from her family successfully while others around the country were settling in together happily.

However, it was a rainy Saturday and Mallory's parents had agreed to allow her physics group to use their basement so they could actually test out their project. Amethyst's inner nerd was incredibly excited for the project, but she had to find clothes that would be functional and not stain during her project before she could go to it.

"You're an ass," she said lightly, continuing to dig through her closet.

Tyler laughed again. "I don't know what to tell you, dude. Something comfortable?"

"I know, but what is considered comfortable?"

"Jeans? Sweats? Not going out naked?"

"Thank you, you've been so helpful," Amethyst said drily, pulling out a black tank and tossing a blue flannel on top of it.

"Speaking of naked, if you're calling me about what to wear, that means you aren't dressed for the day, are you?"

Amethyst glanced down at her towel clad body, smiling and rolling her eyes. "Goodbye, Tyler."

"Because, I mean, I don't have a problem with that-" Amethyst was laughing as she hung up on the boy, his purpose she was sure. She grabbed a pair of light wash jeans and threw on the ensemble. Scraping her still damn hair into a pony tail, she only bothered with concealer so she could hide her scars and the barely visible bruise on her cheek.

Amethyst pulled on her tennis shoes and hopped down the stairs, grateful her parents were both at work. She checked the time before grabbing a water bottle, her camera and bag and headed out to her car.

She was impressed she had navigated her way to Mallory's street following the rough directions the girl had been able to give her, but found it much more difficult to actually locate the house. Amethyst slowly drove down the street, staring at the houses in an attempt to read their number.

She pulled to a stop in the road to stare at a number that was particularly faded, wondering why Forks couldn't number houses more simply. Realizing the house still wasn't the one she sought, Amethyst went to roll down the road further, jumping when a car sped around her. She slammed on her breaks despite rolling at less than 5 m.p.h. and grabbed at her chest. The car pulled into the driveway a few houses down, and Amethyst found herself unsurprised when Alice Cullen stepped out of it.

She followed the car to the driveway, parking in the grass beside it as Mallory had instructed. Amethyst cut her engine and looked over to see Alice was leaning in the window of the silver Volvo, gesturing dramatically with her hands. She sat and watched for a minute, pondering what they were arguing about before finally stepping out into the light drizzle that never seemed to leave the city.

Alice looked up when the taller girl closed her door and smiled as she locked up her car. Amethyst raised an eyebrow and nodded at her, noticing a glare coming her way from the inside of the car.

Jasper Hale hated her, something she knew with conviction. Amethyst considered the fact that she deserved it after the way their two conversations had gone to that point, but it didn't explain why his eyes always seemed to be stuck to her when they were near each other. She pushed the thought away with a roll of her eyes, pulling a face and sticking her tongue out at him in a very unattractive manner before jumping up the front steps of Mallory's house.

Alice followed her a moment later, and the two trailed behind Mallory's older brother who led them down to their basement. The group had split up what they would purchase for the assignment, so Alice began to prop up canvases as Amethyst pulled the food coloring, flour and corn starch that thankfully had been in her house out of her bag. Mallory had set up squeeze bottles with a container of water, while James would be bringing the other liquids they had decided to test.

Amethyst also pulled out her laptop and opened up the spreadsheet, listening as Mallory and Alice made idle chit chat. She absentmindedly picked at the callous that had formed over her burn on her palm, waiting for the laptop to boot correctly.

"That looks painful."

Looking up in surprise, she noticed Malloy staring at her palm with a slightly queasy look on her face. A small disbelieving laugh crossed her lips before she could help it, drawing odd looks from the other two girls.

"Sorry, I was just surprised." Wracking her brain, she came up with a relatively decent cover. "I was thinking that if you feel it looks painful now, you should have seen it when I first burned it."

Relief swept over her when Mallory's face went back to pity, but Alice had curiosity written plainly on her face.

"How did you burn it?"

"Hot burner. Wasn't paying enough attention and put my hand down in the wrong place." It was enough of the truth that she didn't feel bad about saying it to the two girls, but Alice still didn't seem pleased.

"Did you forget that you had turned it on or something? That doesn't seem like the kind of thing you would do."

Amethyst felt an argument coming on about how the girl didn't know her when James came thundering down the stairs. She turned back to her laptop as he unpacked, looking through their list of liquids and mixtures to test.

After setting up 10 squeeze bottles with the different liquids they had determined, the group debated over the way the spray would play out for each at three different angles. Alice sketched out roughly the prediction the group made and Amethyst noted them to the best of her ability. She passed her laptop over to James and grabbed her camera, starting it up as she looked up at her group.

"You guys don't mind, do you? I'm doing a photography project about the movement of water and the way it reacts to different motions, but I think it would be great to be able to tie this project in with it."

"That's great!" Alice chimed while the other two nodded their assent. "We can submit the pictures with the project as well."

While their predictions had been severely off about some of the splatters, the project only took a few hours to complete. Alice had been labeling the canvas and matching it with their predictions while Mallory did the splattering and James recorded the work in Amethyst's laptop as the final girl recorded the whole thing digitally.

Finally, the group packed up with satisfied grins on their faces. James jumped into his car and drove off almost instantly, barely pausing to say goodbye. Amethyst noticed Alice's ride wasn't there yet and stood with her and Mallory to talk for a moment.

Unfortunately, that plan was ruined when Mallory's mom came out with both of her siblings and said they were going to the grocery store.

"I'm so sorry guys, but that means you have to leave too." Mallory had a guilty look on her face and wouldn't make eye contact with Alice, something that made Amethyst raise an eyebrow before she jumped in to save the girl.

"Alice can ride with me. Don't worry about it; we've overstayed our welcome anyway." She smiled slightly at Mallory, trying to ease her embarrassment.

"You don't have to do that," Alice said with a small smile. "My ride will be here any minute."

"Mallory, let's go!" The girl's mother shouted from the van.

Amethyst looked at Alice pointedly, who shrugged lightly before turning to follow the taller girl to her car. Both waved over their shoulders before climbing into Amethyst's Jetta. She started her car and cranked the heat, shivering after spending a few minutes outside in the nipping November air. It was getting close to December and the temperature seemed to know it.

"So where should I take you?" Amethyst pushed her hands against the vents, wishing the warm air would come faster.

"How about back to your house?"

The taller girl raised an eyebrow at the comment. "No, really, where am I taking you?"

"I told you, to your house."

"Am I allowed to drop you at like the hospital or a fire house or something? Or does that law just apply to babies?"

Alice gave her a teasing glance, ignoring the serious tone to Amethyst's voice. However, she didn't reply, bringing Amethyst to glance over at her.

"Alice?" The girl seemed to be a million miles away, concerning Amethyst slightly. "Alice?" She snapped her fingers in the girl's face, feeling slightly relieved when the girl snapped back to reality. "Everything okay up there?"

"Of course!" The bright smile was back on her face instantly. "The hospital actually sounds like a really great idea, though. I can stay with Carlisle until he gets off."

"Do you need let whoever it was who was going to give you a ride know I'm taking you there?" Amethyst questioned, putting her arm around the passenger seat as she backed off the grass into the driveway, and ultimately the road.

"Nah, he was running way too late anyway. I can call him from Carlisle's office."

Amethyst tilted her head slightly. "Didn't you say your ride would be there any minute?"

Alice never gave her a reply, instead humming to the radio as they drove along. Amethyst tapped her fingers on the steering wheel in frustration. The Cullen family seemed so polarized with her, as Jasper and Edward always seemed to be staring, or more specifically glaring, at her, while Emmett and Alice had shown nothing but kindness to the girl. Rosalie hadn't ever spoken a word to her, but Amethyst also hadn't gone out of her way to change that.

After merging on the interstate, she decided she was annoyed enough by the silence to break it.

"Why does Jasper hate me?"

Alice looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow. "He doesn't."

"I know I got into an argument with him that one time and it was stupid and I don't really care what people think of me anyway it's just he always seems to be piercing me with daggers when he looks my way and I just really don't get it." Amethyst huffed slightly at the end of her sentence, realizing she had been pointlessly rambling.

"He definitely doesn't hate you. None of us really hate anyone," Alice replied, looking out the front windshield once again. "We're just accustomed to keeping our distance. No one approaches us, and none of us step forward to put ourselves out there. Jasper, well, he tried to make friends with you and was shut down."

A stab of annoyance pierced through Amethyst's immediate guilt at the statement. "He didn't exactly help his case by telling me I wasn't worth the effort of having a conversation."

"He didn't mean it." The reply was immediate, making Amethyst wonder about the authenticity of it.

Finally pulling in to the Forks Hospital lot, she threw her car into park and turned to look at Alice. "It doesn't really matter if you mean it or not. No one should ever tell someone they aren't worth it."

Alice's lips thinned for a moment before her face relaxed again. "You're right." She gathered her bag from the floor, turning to look at Amethyst. "You should come inside. You can meet Carlisle and assure him you're doing fine."

The girl felt her cheeks heat, realizing that was all Jasper had wanted to convey the day she had snapped at him, but shoved the thought down before she allowed the feeling to register completely. Alice climbed out of the car and turned to look at her expectantly, so Amethyst cut the engine before following her.

Inside the hospital, nurses and the desk workers all greeted Alice kindly as she practically floated through the hallways. Amethyst found herself envious of the general ease Alice seemed to have in life, something the girl could only dream of achieving.

They finally reached a door Amethyst presumed led to Alice's father's office. She watched as the petite girl knocked on the door and walked in without waiting for a response.

"Hello, Alice," a beautiful voice sounded. Amethyst blinked at the sound of the voice, only moving inside when Alice leaned back out to motion at her.

Inside the office, the first thing Amethyst noticed was that Carlisle – Dr. Cullen? – was gorgeous. The man, seeming close to her parent's age, looked as physically perfect as all of his children, a realization that drew envy from Amethyst.

His eyes fell on her and were welcoming as he smiled at her. However, Amethyst found herself surprised by the color of them. They were the same odd honey color that seemed to stick to her when two of his children were around her at school. The man wasn't related to any of the five children and yet they all shared the same odd eye color.

"Amethyst?" The shocked voice shook her out of her contemplation, causing her to turn to the person sitting across the desk from the gorgeous doctor.

"Mom," she breathed, realizing with dread who had spoken to her. If her mother had been angry about Jasper hitting her in the face with a door, she surely wasn't going to be pleased about Amethyst walking into the hospital with Alice.

"Hello Dr. Ashford," Alice chimed happily, walking over to take the seat next to Amethyst's mother. "It's so wonderful to finally meet you. Carlisle says you're the best surgeon here, and probably in the entire state."

She watched the smile cross her mother's face as a blush touched her cheeks. Amethyst wanted to roll her eyes, but was distracted by the fact there was a fourth person in the office.

Jasper had been standing at one of the bookshelves behind the door; a fact Amethyst only realized when he stepped further into the room. He nodded to the girl still standing in the doorway before looking to Alice.

"I was going to come get you-"

"It's fine," the small girl smiled up at her adoptive brother. "Amethyst was kind enough to offer me a ride here, so no harm done."

"Was she?" Carla's eyes turned to her daughter, making the younger girl stiffen.

"We had finished our group project and Mallory had to go to the store with her mother," Amethyst tried to explain, noticing her mother's displeased look.

Carlisle raised an eyebrow at Jasper, prompting him turned to Amethyst. "Thank you. I appreciate your help."

The girl nodded mutely, noting he purposefully did not directly meet her gaze.

"Amethyst," her mother's voice came again, making her wince the smallest bit. "Remember your manners."

"Of course." Her reply was instant. "It really wasn't any issue. I enjoyed spending the time with her."

Jasper did meet her gaze at that point, his eyes thinning the slightest bit. Nodding curtly, he walked back over to his family with a book in his hand.

"Now, Carlisle, Alice, Jasper, you'll all have to excuse me. I need to go escort my daughter out," Carla said, standing up and smoothing her coat out in one motion.

"Of course. We can speak later." Carlisle smiled at the woman before turning to her daughter. "It really was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you again for bringing Alice."

"It's really no problem," Amethyst replied, looking only at her mother as she came closer to the girl. "I'll see you guys on Monday," she said quickly, before Carla grabbed her upper arm tighter than necessary and steered her out of the office.

"What. Are. You. Doing." Carla hissed through her teeth as she lead her daughter by the arm, her fingernails beginning to dig through the flannel. "You were not supposed to interfere with the Cullens. You already cost your father his job once, I will not allow you to do the same thing here."

"Was just trying to be a good person, Mom, please," she begged quietly, knowing better than to cause a scene.

Carla's face twitched. "Be a good person? You don't know the first thing about that." She released Amethyst's arm when they were in the lobby, careful not to throw the girl away and cause a scene. "We'll discuss this at home."

Amethyst hurried out of the hospital, not wanting to give her mother the chance to change her mind. She climbed into her car and released the shaky breath she didn't realize she had been holding. The girl numbly started the engine before driving home through the light rain.

When she opened her front door, the phone ringing echoed through the house.

"I'll get it," she grumbled, jumping up the stairs to grab the wireless phone where it she had left it in her bedroom.

The number wasn't one Amethyst recognized, but she accepted the call anyway. "Hello?"

"Hi, I was calling to speak with Amethyst Ashford?"

Her eyebrows pulled together. "This is she."

"Oh, great. This is Chloe Harman from Forks Public Library, how're you doing?"

"I'm great, how're you?"

"Fantastic, thanks for asking. Listen, we've reviewed your application and would love to interview you for a part time position here. When would you be able to come in?"

Excitement left her at a loss for words for a brief moment. After collecting her thoughts, Amethyst quickly set up an interview for after school that Wednesday, thanking the woman before hanging up the phone. She made sure the line was disconnected before screaming and running in small circles, punching the air in excitement.

After catching her breath, Amethyst flopped down on her bed, laughing in excitement. Not only would a job be the perfect excuse to get her out of the house, she had also proved her father wrong; she was able to get a job.

She laid there for a moment, grinning at the ceiling, feeling truly happy for the first time since the accident. However, Amethyst wasn't going to lay there forever, and quickly dialed a number on the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Mrs. Crowley, it's Amethyst."


	7. Dare You To Move Toward The Argument

Her mother came and went from the house, never touching Amethyst's locked door. She left in the early hours of the morning, not bothering the girl as she woke only briefly to roll over when the door slammed. She smiled and snuggled further into her covers, falling back into a peaceful sleep.

Another few hours passed before she came back to reality, groaning in pleasure as she stretched out her tight muscles. Her upper right arm ached a bit from the previous day, but luckily her mother didn't have the same grip strength as her father and hadn't left a dark bruise.

Amethyst spent the day in her room doing homework, only leaving to refill her hot chocolate. The house proved to be rather drafty and her sweater, leggings and thick socks didn't seem to be enough to keep her warm, so she kept the drink on hand throughout the day.

Sunday came and went, and Amethyst was up before her mother that Monday. The chill in her house crept through to her bones, so she spent extra time in the shower and pulled out her heavier clothing. A black long sleeve under armor shirt went under her white vest, while her favorite jeans and leather boots worked to keep her legs warm. Happy her face was finally clear of bruises, she went light on her daily makeup. Amethyst brushed her hair out once more before winding a blue scarf around her neck, one that would compliment her electric blue eyes.

Tyler honked outside, making her cringe and run down the stairs before her mother could fully wake up. She grabbed her camera, book bag, coat and keys and was outside without hearing any movement upstairs. Amethyst breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the door as she locked it, grateful for her rare stroke of luck.

"Let's go already!" Tyler called out from his van. Amethyst turned around to stare him down, but he rolled his eyes at her before winding the window back up.

She shrugged her coat on as she walked toward the van, glaring darkly at the driver the entire time.

"I see something is back up your ass," he commented happily as she climbed into the passenger seat.

Amethyst didn't find the same humor Tyler did in the situation, pulling the door closed more gently than she would have if they weren't at her house. "You are the worst," she declared, pulling her seatbelt on.

"Thanks. You can always walk to school, you know."

"I told you not to be too loud when you got to my house to pick me up in the mornings."

He sighed in frustration, pausing the conversation to merge on the interstate. "I can't call you between certain odd hours, I'm not actually allowed to come over to your house and I can't even honk to let you know when I'm outside in the mornings. How else am I supposed to reach you without calling or knocking?"

"Try showing up at the same time every day," she grumbled, picking at the last of the plum polish on her fingers.

"Try driving yourself," he challenged, making the girl sigh as she turned to the window. Her breath fogged up the glass quickly, making her shiver again.

Amethyst pulled her feet up to the seat so she could wrap her arms around them, trying to trap her body heat. "Can we stop at the gas station to get hot chocolate or something? I'm freezing."

Tyler raised an eyebrow at her, noticing the amount of clothing she had put on that morning. "Aren't you from New York?"

"No. I've been lying to you guys. I'm actually from Mexico. _Feliz cumpleaños_ _."_

"Happy birthday?" Her driving partner cracked up, making Amethyst work to fight a smile on her own face.

"Sue me, I took Latin in the city," she said, finally letting the smile win out.

The boy glanced over at her, his own grin widening when he saw hers. Reaching over, he tapped her chin with his knuckles. "Let's get you that hot chocolate. Or should I say _chocolate caliente?_ "

Amethyst groaned and buried her face into her knees, enjoying the way Tyler's cackles filled the van.

The chills stayed with her when she woke up the next day, making her upset. She threw on more under armor, a red sweater dress and thick dark grey leggings. Amethyst only applied concealer to her face, braiding her sheets of brunette hair over her shoulder. She found a grey knit hat sitting a shelf in her closet and pulled it on and secured it with bobby pins.

Amethyst made herself hot chocolate before she left that morning, holding her breath when she was in the kitchen while her mom came down the stairs. No words passed between the two of them and her chest unknotted when her mother walked back upstairs with a mug of tea.

She gulped down a cup before filling her thermos with more of the drink. Amethyst slipped out of her house and into her car, turning the heat all the way up immediately. She had the radio on quietly throughout her drive to keep her company.

Parking next to Tyler's van had become routine, so she was disappointed to not find him in the lot yet that Tuesday morning. She climbed out of her car and walked over to her normal group sans Tyler, immediately tucking herself into the taller girl to stay warm.

"Are you okay?" Angela asked as Amethyst snuggled herself into her arm, gripping her thermos tightly.

She pulled herself in closer to the girl. "It's cold."

"It is almost December," she smiled down at Amethyst who sipped her hot chocolate contemplatively.

The group chatted around her as she looked for Tyler, wondering where he was. The first bell rang and Angela pulled her girl still attached to her arm toward their class.

"Where is Tyler?" Amethyst asked, staring over her shoulder and allowing the taller girl to lead her.

Angela shrugged, jostling her friend. "Probably out sick. It's okay."

The brunette shook her head. "No, he was fine yesterday. He wasn't sick yesterday. Where is he?"

"Calm down," she pulled Amethyst into the classroom and going to the coat rack. "He might just be running late. We'll find him at lunch."

The thought bothered Amethyst through the entire class, tapping her pencil against her notebook as her teacher covered chain rules, work the girl believed she could do in her sleep.

She walked into physics still contemplating the issue, smiling mindlessly at Alice as she slid into her seat.

"Our project is due this Friday."

That snapped Amethyst out of it. "What?"

Alice nodded at the board where their teacher was writing out a reminder about the semester project. Amethyst nodded slowly.

"That's fine. We just have to put everything together and write our conclusion anyway." She looked at the other two in their group who worked at a nearby table, but was surprised to see them shaking their heads.

James sighed. "I have no time this week. On top of helping my dad watch the kids while my mom's out of town, I have a huge English paper due. I really can't get away from it."

"Work gave me full hours this week and I wanted to take them to save for Christmas," Mallory said. "I suppose I could take a day off if I need to."

"And I could have you guys over one day when my dad gets off work. I do have four little siblings, though, so I can't guarantee a great work environment."

"Don't worry about it," Alice said with a dazzling smile. "Amethyst and I will finish it on our own."

"We will?" She looked at the short girl warily as the second bell rang and their teacher turned around immediately to begin class.

Alice winked at her as they cracked their books for the lesson.

As soon as the class was over, Amethyst whipped her attention back to the girl who was packing her bookbag with a smile on her face.

"What do you mean we'll finish the project?"

"You said it yourself. We don't have that much left to do. It should only take the two of us a few hours at most." Those unnerving honey gold eyes darted over to the other two in the group who were watching the exchange wordlessly. "We've got it under control."

Amethyst nodded her assent at the other two, even though she wasn't the biggest fan of the idea. After all, where would they work? When would they work? Would her parents be angry? Would it interfere with actual work?

"I have a job interview tomorrow," she blurted out, just remembering it.

Alice raised an eyebrow as she walked out of the classroom, prompting the brunette to gather her books and do the same. "So we'll work on Thursday."

Amethyst mindlessly followed the shorter girl. "But when? And where?"

"Your house right after school."

"No," she shook her head as the two stepped into a building together. "Not my house."

Alice studied the girl before shrugging. "Alright, then mine. We'll work out details later. Hi, Jasper."

Spinning around in surprise, Amethyst noticed Jasper Hale staring her down again. "What're you doing here?" The odd color of his eyes constantly unnerved her, but she would not break the contact with him.

He raised a blonde eyebrow perfectly, causing a twinge of jealousy in her stomach. "Going to class. The real question is what are you doing in my history class?"

Her mouth popped open a bit, looking to see they were standing in a classroom that wasn't hers. She swallowed deeply, hoping to fight the blush that was rising to her cheeks. "Having a conversation with your sister."

"Whatever," Jasper grumbled, pushing by her. Amethyst knew her cheeks lit up bright red at that point, as his hand had brushed hers when he walked by. His pace picked up, causing her embarrassment to run deeper.

She couldn't figure out why she cared. She had been determined not to let anyone affect her while in Forks, and had only broken it for two people who had shown kindness to her. All Jasper Hale did was smart off to her and stare, irking her to no end.

"You might want to head to class." Alice's voice brought Amethyst back from her thoughts. "I'll talk to you at lunch."

Her photography and chemistry classes passed quickly as she got closer to finishing editing her semester project and wrapped up a lab testing the equilibrium of different ions. Amethyst hurried out of chemistry, happy when she saw Tyler leaning against the wall outside of the cafeteria.

However, he looked up at her and made her freeze in her tracks.

"Walk much?" A guy remarked after he bumped into Amethyst due to her sudden stop. She shook herself out of her thoughts and hurried over to Tyler.

"What happened?" She breathed, reaching out toward his face but quickly redacting her hand.

He gave her a half smile. "I was being an idiot and joking around this morning when I tripped and hit the coffee table."

"You specifically hit your eye?" The black eye was incredibly swollen and hadn't fully bruised yet, leading Amethyst to believe his statement it happened that morning. However, he told a lie she knew all too well.

He shrugged slightly. "I was getting it checked out and ran late to school. Are you still freezing?" Tyler wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her into the cafeteria, looking at her multiple layers.

"Yeah, I can't shake it even with all the hot chocolate. What did the doctors say?"

He guided her to the line with a sigh. "That it'll bruise but I didn't do any real damage. You should eat some soup."

"That's lucky. The corner of a table could have done some real damage."

"It was the rounded one in my living room. Get some orange juice, too."

"How convenient," Amethyst said, turning to stare at him while he reached in to the fridge to grab her juice.

He put it down on her tray with a sigh, looking straight into her eye. "Stop. I hit my eye on the table."

"I never said otherwise." She paid for her food before leading Tyler over to their group table.

Everyone shifted over for the pair, giving them seats between Angela and Lauren. Amethyst listened with a roll of her eyes and small smirk as Lauren immediately began to fret over Tyler's eye.

"I told you not to worry." The quieter girl to her right smiled over at Amethyst, who ducked her head slightly before giving a small smile back.

"Hi there!"

The table went silent as they all turned in unison to see Alice Cullen standing behind Amethyst.

"Hey, Alice, did you want to go to a different table to talk?"

"Nope, I wrote down all the details for you. Oh, and ride with Tyler on Thursday. We wouldn't want you getting lost trying to follow us to our house. You can call us if plans change." A piece of paper was in the girl's extended hand.

Amethyst reached out and took it hesitantly. "Thanks, Alice. I'll let you know."

"Sounds great! Enjoy your day, guys." Alice tossed a dazzling smile to the table before walking back over to her siblings. Amethyst watched her go, once again envious of the girl's natural grace. Her eyes switched over to the rest of the Cullens, surprised when they were actually having a conversation.

Edward seemed to be explaining something to Rosalie and Emmet, while Jasper had a deep set frown on his face as Alice joined them. Amethyst's eyes hovered on the blonde male despite their annoyance with each other. Part of her wished for him to disappear from her life, but another part wanted him to stop frowning and look back at her. Edward's face twitched into a frown, concerning her further, before a voice brought her back to her table.

"What is their fascination with you?"

"Sorry?" Amethyst crunched her eyebrows at Lauren.

The blonde slammed her hands down on the table, causing most of the people sitting around it to jump. "You just come here out of nowhere and all of a sudden everyone's paying attention to you and you get invited over to the Cullen's house? Are you kidding me?"

"Lauren, take it easy." Tyler reached over to put his hand on her arm but she shoved him away instantly.

"No. You think you can just walk in here like you own the place with makeup caked on your face and heels that you can barely walk in and every guy starts drooling." Lauren stood up, glaring at the newcomer. "Running away from New York to Forks doesn't make you special."

"I never said it did. You also have no right to talk about me like that," Amethyst replied, not giving the girl the satisfaction of seeing her angry.

The blonde smirked at the brunette. "Won't even stand up for yourself I see."

Amethyst stood up at that point, brushing off Tyler and Angela as they tried to pull her back down. Tyler stood up between the pair of girls as they glared at each other, ready to play referee.

"I'm standing now. Are you happy?"

"No. I won't be happy until you get your sorry ass out of Forks because you obviously don't belong here."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Sorry the people here decided to make friends with a girl who can see past the end of her nose and dreams of things bigger than getting plastic surgery to try and fix things that cannot be repaired." The girl let her eyes slip to Laruen's chest, implying what she hadn't said.

A slap echoed through the cafeteria, making Amethyst's jaw drop. Lauren's eyes widened in shock as she realized her slap hat landed on Angela's face instead of her intended target. The tall girl was holding the side of her face with tears welling up in her eyes.

Anger welled up within Amethyst as Ben stood up to grab Angela. She turned her eyes back to the blonde, who still looked to be in shock.

"What the hell?" Her yell made Lauren focus back on her with narrowed eyes. "How could you do something like that?"

"Excuse me for not wanting to deal with some random chick who came from the nastiest city in the world because she obviously couldn't make the cut."

Amethyst wanted with every fiber of her body to deck the girl, but a cool hand grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the cafeteria before anything more could happen. She heard people following behind her as the firm grasp on her wrist kept her moving. The group ended up out in the parking lot before Amethyst yanked her arm out of the grip and let out a giant scream.

She bent over and wrapped her arms around her legs at that point, trying to calm back down. The girl had just been talking out of her ass and Amethyst knew it, but she certainly knew how to make her point.

A hand on her back made her look up, noticing Tyler was bent over beside her. He moved his arm around her shoulders as she grabbed a fist of his jacket, steadying her breathing.

"It's alright. She didn't mean it."

"I don't really care what she said about me. It's not the first time someone had badmouthed my city before," Amethyst said, forcing the corners of her mouth to twitch up. "I was angrier about Angela."

Realization shoot through Amethyst as she shot up, turning to see Ben sitting on the curb with the aforementioned girl. She quickly pulled Tyler up before going over to check on their friends.

"You shouldn't have don't that," Amethyst said, sitting down beside Angela.

The tall girl smiled at her slightly, wincing when it hurt the swelling skin. "I didn't mean to actually take the hit for you, I was just going to pull you away away when she swung. My face happened to get in the way."

Laughing lightly, the brunette wrapped an arm around her friend and leaned her head on the girl's shoulder. Tyler leaned over onto Amethyst to join the semblance of a hug. Ben joined in from the other side, making Angela giggle as her cheeks turned a much more pleasant red.

"I brought ice, a water bottle and some medicine just in case." Amethyst looked up to see Alice walking toward them with the listed items in her hands. The short girl smiled as she handed them over to Angela before taking a step back. "Would you guys mind if I took a picture of you all like this? I just think it's a moment that needs to be captured."

Tyler laughed as Angela began to splutter. "A black eye for me, a red cheek for Angela and hardcore shivers for Amethyst. Ben, looks like you're the odd man out."

Ben laughed on the end, but consented to the photo being taken. Amethyst handed over her camera for her photography class and Alice snapped some photos of the four of them, before Ben stood up and let her take a picture of just the three.

Alice handed the camera back and said she needed to go back inside and Ben agreed to go with her. When the two of them walked back into the building. Amethyst wrapped her arms around the torsos of her two friends as they sat on the curb. A laugh bubbled up inside of her that she couldn't stop from breaking through her lips.

The other two stared at her for a moment before smiles coming to their own faces with eventual laughter coming from them as well. When they calmed down, Amethyst smiled a full smile at them as they slung arms around her as well.

"We're quite the group," she muttered, looking between the two.

Tyler snorted slightly. "We should hit the town looking like this. No one would mess with us."

"What town?" Amethyst sighed slightly, looking out to dreary, but thankfully not rainy, Forks.

Angela shrugged slightly, jostling her friend's arms. "There's always Port Angeles."

"What's that?"

"A town nearby, has more to do than Forks." Tyler smiled. "We should go before the weather gets worse."

The mention of the weather made Amethyst feel the chill to the air that had slowly been setting in. She snuggled into her jacket more, pulling the other two closer. "I don't think there's much time left for that."

"We could go tonight," he suggested.

Amethyst and Angela exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. The shorter girl shrugged slightly. "My parents probably wouldn't notice."

Tyler nodded. "Mine won't care."

Angela sighed slightly. "I can call after school and ask. I better not go home if we're going tonight, though. My parents probably won't want me to go out if they see my face."

"Then we'll go right after school," Tyler declared with a smile.

Amethyst pushed her forehead against Angela's as a look of doubt crossed her face, making the taller girl grin at her friend. Tyler grabbed the ice from Angela's hand and tried to rub it all over her face, making the sweet girl laugh and pull away from her friends.


	8. Dare You To Move Down The Stairs

Tyler practically dragged Amethyst from government that day, taking her to where Angela was waiting outside building 2. The group walked to the office so Angela could call her parents, and Amethyst realized she was really excited to go take the trip with her friends.

As the tall girl borrowed the phone from the secretary, Amethyst huddled into Tyler. He wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder when a shiver raked her body.

"Are you sure you're feeling up to going today?" Tyler had a look of concern on his face. "You've been freezing for at least two days. That's probably not normal."

She shook her head, looking to Angela who had a huge smile on her face. "It's too late to back out today anyway. If something is really wrong, I'll talk to my mom." Even though she knew the statement wasn't true, it seemed to put Tyler's mind to ease.

Amethyst mindlessly picked at a string sticking off Tyler's sweater until he realized and trapped her hands, making her laugh lightly.

"They said yes, but we have to be back before 10." Angela's grin hadn't diminished when she was back with her friends.

The group exchanged high fives and laughed as they walked out to the student lot. Amethyst paused when they stepped onto the pavement, looking for a silver Volvo. A twinge of disappointment ticked through her when she couldn't find it, but her eyes fell on a different car in the lot.

"Oh, crap."

"What's wrong?" Angela crunched her eyebrows together at the other girl.

"I totally forgot I drove today."

The three of them stared at each other before Tyler cracked up, making the girls both grin. "I should probably go home and let my family know anyway. You can drop your car and then walk over to my house while I'm inside."

Angela threw her hands in the air, laughing slightly. "I literally could have walked to my house while you guys took your cars home."

"Now you get to have more fun by riding along, though," Tyler said with a grin.

Amethyst grabbed the tall girl's arm, dragging her toward the Jetta. "I call Angela. See you in a few minutes," she called over her shoulder, leaving a laughing Tyler behind.

The heat came on full blast when Amethyst started her car, making Angela recoil slightly. "Are you insane? It's nowhere near that cold."

The brunette shrugged. "I think it is." She put her car into gear and headed out for the highway, making idle chat over the air roaring from the vents.

Amethyst was pleased not to see a car outside of her house when she parked. "Do you mind coming inside for a moment? I want to get a refill." She tapped her thermos.

"Of course not," Angela said, climbing out behind her friend.

They walked into the house with Amethyst humming slightly as they headed for her kitchen. She turned on the kettle and grabbed her mix out of the cabinets, offering her friend a drink at the same time.

"Amethyst!" The angry shout came from upstairs, making both of them jump. Fear welled up inside the girl at her mother's voice, glancing quickly at Angela before heading toward the stairs to see what her mother wanted.

She didn't have time to leave the kitchen before her mother stalked in with a broken coffee mug. "This was on the floor of your room with crap staining the carpet. What the hell were you doing?"

"Mom, Angela's here," she rushed out, knowing the situation was going to get worse if she didn't say something. There would be repercussion for having the girl over as well, but that seemed like the lesser of the two evils at that point in time.

The shift was immediate. Her mother's face smoothed over she she looked over to see the girl with light brown hair sitting at their kitchen table. Carla smiled slightly, stepping around her daughter.

"Hi Angela, I'm so sorry you had to see that. I just got off a double shift and Amethyst can just be so clumsy."

Angela blinked a few times, glancing at her friend before looking over to the woman. "Of course, long days can be the worst."

"Now, I'm sorry to ask you to do this, but I really must ask you to leave. Amethyst has to clean up her mess and finish up her homework."

"We're going to Port Angeles tonight, Mom." Amethyst feared the look that would be on the woman's face when she turned around, so she kept talking. "We wanted to explore the city before the weather got too bad for us to go. I also wanted to do some Christmas shopping."

"Fine, go." Carla turned around to glare at her daughter. "Just clean up your carpet before you do."

The woman walked back up the stairs, leaving Amethyst purposefully avoiding Angela's gaze in the awkward silence. "I'm just going to go get the stain out. I'll be back down in a few minutes." She grabbed the cleaning product from the cupboard before heading upstairs. Her mother's door was closed, so she silently went to clean the spot.

Staring at the hot chocolate on the ground, Amethyst wondered how it got there. She didn't remember knocking the mug over, but dropped to her knees to clean up the mess nonetheless. The chocolate mostly came out of her tan carpet, so she sprinkled some leave-in cleaner on the spot and went back down to her friend.

Angela wordlessly handed over a thermos of hot chocolate when Amethyst appeared downstairs. The girl put her cleaning supplies away and made sure the stove was off. They walked back out into the biting November air, Amethyst pulling her coat tighter around her frame.

She was grateful the girl next to her was probably the sweetest person on the planet, as Angela didn't say anything while they trekked toward Tyler's house. However, her lingering glances made Amethyst sigh.

"You know you're allowed to ask questions. We're friends."

"Is everything okay?"

Amethyst readjusted her hat after a particularly powerful gust of wind. "You're going to have to be a tad more specific."

"At home, with your family. Are you in a bad situation?"

The girl forced a laugh out, smiling at Angela. "You heard my mom. She just worked a double at the hospital. That isn't easy for a surgeon, so she gets grouchy from time to time. It doesn't mean anything."

Amethyst was positive the other girl didn't believe her statement, but the girl was too polite to question her. They walked up the stairs to the Crowley home, both surprised to hear shouting. Amethyst didn't knock, instead leaning in to listen.

"You just got a black eye! What makes you think I'm going to let you go an hour away and then drive back late at night while you could pass out at any moment?"

"I'm fine, Mom, the doctors said so."

"But you tripped and hit your head, Tyler, I'm just concerned."

"It's just a black eye. I don't have cancer."

"No, but it can be dangerous."

Angela reached around the other girl to knock on the door, giving her a reprimanding look for eavesdropping. The door was yanked open by Tyler, who grinned at them.

"Hold on one sec." He turned away from the door, his mother standing in the doorway with a concerned look on her face.

"Tyler, invite the girls in."

"Nah, they have cold hearts anyway. They're probably more comfortable out there anyway. At least, Amethyst is," Tyler called from the kitchen.

While his mother reprimanded him, Amethyst felt a smirk playing over her lips. His mom really cared about him, something she knew but found amusing to watch in person. Tyler walked back into the entryway and tossed a water bottle to Angela, holding one in his own hand.

"We'll be back before 10, Mom." He kissed her on the cheek, making her expression soften slightly before he walked through the door.

She came up to close it behind them. "Call if something happens."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Crowley." Angela smiled at the woman. "None of us would let anything happen to the others."

The woman waved them off, and an hour later they were pulling in to Port Angeles.

"You call this a city?" Amethyst felt slightly insulted as Tyler pulled into a street parking spot. "This is a slight to cities everywhere."

"Easy there, New York. It's the biggest city on the peninsula," Tyler said, grinning at the girl's look of distaste. "Give it a chance."

"You said something about Christmas shopping to your mom," Angela said from her spot leaning between the two front seats. "This is where most people come for that."

Tyler turned to Amethyst with a look of shock on his face. "She's met your mom? I'm not even allowed inside your house!"

The girl leaned her head back on the seat as she drained the last of her hot chocolate. "Believe me, it was not on purpose. Now let's go explore this holler," she joked, undoing her seat belt.

They stopped in at most of the stores including a boutique with actual name brands, a place where Amethyst wanted to stay much longer than they actually did.

When the sun began to creep down, Tyler guided them to a nearby steakhouse, raving about the burgers there.

Angela had a slightly concerned look on her face, bringing Amethyst to nudge her. "What's up?"

The tall girl looked down slightly, fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket. "I just wasn't really planning on going out today and didn't bring a lot of money with me," she explained, looking at the other two apologetically.

Amethyst shrugged. "I'll cover you and you can pay me back in a few days."

The girl chewed on her lip nervously. "I actually can't really pay you back."

"Then don't." The shorter girl shrugged. "I owe Tyler a meal anyway, so I can just buy for all of us tonight."

Tyler raised his eyebrow. "I thought you hadn't started your job yet?"

"I haven't. My interview is tomorrow."

"And you can afford to take us all out?"

Amethyst tugged on the end of her braid, shoving her awkward feeling away. "I started helping my grandfather with research and things for his law firm about three years ago. My grandma decided they should pay me for it so I could afford subway rides to go out with friends and clothes when I wanted them. They gave me a decent amount every other week, as long as I was helping out. When we moved to Forks, the checks just didn't stop." She shrugged, pulling off a dead end from her hair.

"I wish my grandparents were lawyers," Tyler said wistfully. "My parents just help me with the things I need as long as I keep my grades up and keep doing well with my sports."

Angela looked uncomfortable, so Amethyst wrapped an arm around her and steered the group down the street. "How about we find somewhere a bit cheaper? I'll still buy and you can just pay me back with homemade hot chocolate every day."

"What is your obsession with that drink?" Tyler groaned as he led the girls to a buffet place down the street.

She shrugged, pulling Angela closer for warmth. "It helps with the temperature. Coffee and tea suck."

They staked out a table before grabbing food from the buffet. When they were all seated, Tyler turned to the shortest of the group. "So. You're the first person in Forks High School history to get invited over to the Cullen house. Tell me about it."

She shrugged slightly, picking at her salad. "We have to finish up our physics project and could only work at her house. It's not really anything."

"It is, actually," Angela replied, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "You could've picked to work at the library or stayed after school."

"I don't know, guys." She put her fork down. "I didn't really ask."

They both dropped the subject, looking away for a moment. Tyler looked back, glancing at Amethyst's plate. "Is there something wrong with the salad?"

"No." The brunette glanced at her plate.

"They why have you barely touched it?"

She wanted to scream at the interrogation that she felt she was being put through that day. "I don't know, I guess I'm not very hungry."

Tyler narrowed his eyes. "You barely touched your lunch."

"It happens. Hunger comes and goes, you guys have probably had days where nothing has just sounded good. That's where I am right now."

Angela looked down at her plate and pushed it away slightly. "Well know I feel even worse about making you pay for my food."

Amethyst sighed. "Please guys, seriously, don't. I paid because I wanted to. Eat as much as you guys want. It's great, see?" She took a large bite of her salad and smiled around it.

The two of them gave her slightly uncomfortable smiles before picking at their food for the rest of the night, upsetting Amethyst. She didn't comment, not wanting to prolong the argument.

After dinner, the group piled back into Tyler's van and drove back to Forks with minimal small talk. Tyler dropped Angela off with a honk and a wave before taking Amethyst home.

The brunette glared at her front door, realizing her mother's car would be in the garage, blocking her ability to determine if anyone was home.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Amethyst looked over at her friend and shoved his shoulder. "I really didn't mean to upset you by letting Angela in. I thought we would just be here for a minute."

"It's fine," he said with a half smile. "I'll see you tomorrow. Big day."

"Big day," she grumbled back before climbing out. "Night, Tyler."

He waved as she shut the door before turning around to head to his house. She watched the brake lights disappear around the corner before barring herself to go inside.

The house was dark when Amethyst stepped in, helping her to breathe a bit more easily. She walked up the stairs to her room lightly, happy her mother had gone in to work.

When she reached the top of the stairs, a smack resounded, making her stagger back. The hand rail jabbed into the middle of her back, and Amethyst reached around to grab it so she wouldn't tumble down the stairs. When she found her balance, her electric blue eyes looked up to see Carla with an incredibly pissed look on her face.

"How dare you embarrass me like that," she growled, raising her hand again at her daughter.

Amethyst winced, bringing an arm up to block her face which ended up taking the force of her mother's slap. "I didn't think you were home!"

"And that makes it okay to bring someone into this house when we've clearly told you not to?" Her mother changed tactics, kicking at the girl's knee. Amethyst refused to cry out, absorbing the blow instead. "You really must not have a brain."

"Mom, please, I just wanted to grab a drink before we left," she begged, sinking to her knees in pain.

Carla knotted her hand in the girl's hair, bringing her back up to eye level. "As if you need more hot chocolate to make you fatter." A blow landed on the girl's stomach, making her gasp as the air left her. "You already wrecked this house with it. Are you going to ruin your body with it as well?"

"No, Mom, I just wanted to warm up." Her breath came out as wheezes, a fact that made Carla smirk.

"Try taking a shower for once. You reek anyway. No wonder none of the Cullen boys tell their father about you. They know they're in an entirely different league."

Tears built up in Amethyst's eyes. "Mom, please-" A smack landed on the other side of her face before Carla dropped Amethyst to the floor.

"You're an embarrassment to this family. We should have left you in New York."

"I wish you would have!" The girl screamed, losing her temper. "It's better than this hell you both put me through."

A kick to her stomach sent Amethyst flying back down the stairs. She quickly protected her face so her arms and torso took the worst of the fall, but she still didn't feel as if she could get back up when she landed on the bottom.

"You will not talk to me like that again."

Amethyst heard a door slam, meaning her mother was done with her for the night. Tears poured from her eyes as she laid on the ground, trying to force herself up. When she realized it wasn't going to work, the girl let her eyes fall closed and laid there until her body finally passed out.

She woke up to her mother stepping over her on the way out the next morning. Amethyst groaned, forcing herself to roll onto her stomach, not realizing how much it would ache. She pressed as hard as she could against the ground to force herself up. Nothing felt broken but she knew she was bruised almost everywhere.

The girl climbed up the stairs on all fours and struggled into the bathroom. The hot water scalded her bruised skin, bringing a cry of pain from her. The cold she had been carrying couldn't be chased away from her body, no matter the temperature of the water.

Amethyst shakily stood up to get out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her body. She wanted to skip school, to run away, but knew she had one very important thing that day: a job interview. The safest way she could stick it to her parents was taking up a job. It would keep her out of the house as well, similarly to the work Amethyst had done for her grandfather.

She poked through her closet slowly, trying to find an outfit that wouldn't show any skin. She had seen the bruises in the bathroom mirror. Her face was red on both sides from the smack while her arms were almost completely bruised on the top, her legs had purple marks from hitting off the stairs and the kick to her stomach had left the darkest discoloration. Amethyst could feel the swelling on her back from the hand rail and knew she had to be favoring her right knee.

Thick black leggings, an ivory panel top with intricate necklace and black blazer would cover her. She pulled on her favorite boots again, unhappy that she couldn't wear heels but knowing better than to test her limits. She left her hair down to try and draw attention from her face before caking makeup on, doing everything in her ability to hide the red marks and swelling.

Tyler was waiting outside for her when she glanced out the window, so Amethyst threw an ACE wrap and sweats in her bag for gym before taking her time down the stairs.

When she climbed into his car, Tyler was staring at her.

"What?" she asked self consciously, flipping down the visor to check in the mirror she had covered everything properly.

He shook his head slightly. "Did you age like fifty years overnight? You look like you're in pain."

She went to pull her legs up onto the seat protectively, wincing when that pulled her muscles in the wrong way.

"See what I mean?"

Amethyst shook her head and reached for the handle. "Thanks, but I'll drive myself to school today."

"Hold on," he reached over and grabbed her arm, making her cringe. He quickly released her, realizing he had caused pain. "What's going on?"

She turned to stare at him and huffed out a sigh. "How did you really get that black eye."

"I fell and smacked my face on the table. I was running around the house because I was late for school, slipped on the hardwood because I was only wearing socks and hit it on the corner of the table. You can ask my parents because they both watched it happen." Tyler shook his head. "Why don't you believe me about that?"

"I'm just concerned," she muttered, turning back to climb out of the car.

"Amethyst, tell me what's happening." She climbed out without saying anything and Tyler followed her, leaving the van idling. "Amethyst, talk to me."

"Just leave me alone!" She turned to him with unwilling tears in her eyes, shocking the boy. "I fell down the stairs and I'm freezing and crying is going to ruin my makeup and I hate this stupid town!" A raindrop splattered on her head, swiftly followed by many more. Amethyst let her tears fall at that point, hugging herself. "I hate everything." The weather seemed to respond to her, as the skies opened and dumped on the pair.

Tyler reached out to her but she pulled away, walking back to the house. "Don't walk away from me after a statement like that! You should know I'm not going to leave you alone now." He sounded angry when he yelled at her, a realization that would have surprised her on any other day.

"Why not?" Amethyst was hysterical as stopped again, tears and rain mixing on her face as she tried to tighten her arms around her abdomen with minimal pain. "Why the hell can't you just listen to what I'm saying and go away. I don't need your help."

Tyler had stepped in front of her at some point during her sentence and was staring at her in shock. She stared back for a moment, not realizing what was happening.

"Amethyst, your face." He reached toward her but didn't actually but a hand on her skin.

Panic and bile began to rise up from her stomach. "I told you, I fell down the stairs."

He shook his head, still in shock. "Those are the same bruises Angela had on her face. Those don't come from falling down the stairs."


	9. Dare You To Move To Your Local Library

"You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Amethyst said, pushing Tyler out of the way to head into her house. She was going to be sick, she was sure, and didn't want her friend to see it.

Tyler followed behind her as she went to go inside. "Who hit you?"

His comment pushed her stomach over the edge. Grabbing onto the rain leading up to her porch, the contents of her stomach forced their way out. Tyler jumped into action, pulling her heavy layers of hair back from her face and rubbing her back. She pushed his hand away from her back when he placed it exactly on her bruise, causing another wave of nausea sweeping over her. It took a few moments before she could pull up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Amethyst turned to look at Tyler, both of them completely soaked by the pouring rain. Salty tears mixed on her face with the drops as she looked at her friend.

"I'm really hurt," she said softly.

"I know," he muttered back. Tyler had reached for her but dropped his hands almost immediately, afraid of hurting her again.

She sniffed. "I did fall down the stairs. My face was just hit on both sides." The switch to passive voice helped her avoid the point.

Tyler nodded, still not looking as if he believed her. "Go inside and change. I'll be back in a few minutes after changing. Get yourself some tea and dry clothes."

Amethyst nodded and turned to walk away, but Tyler grabbed her hand gently which made her turn back. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before walking back to his van.

A smile twitched at her lips as she worked her way back inside. The stairs were rough, particularly on her knee, but she managed to climb them safely. Amethyst brushed her teeth first, working to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth, before stripping the wet clothes off with some difficulty. The wasted outfit upset her slightly, but she dived back into her closet anyway.

Among her dresses, she noticed a raspberry long sleeve dress. The collar rested around her neck without showing any bruises, so she pulled it out. Amethyst took the time to wrap up her knee while changing, realizing she needed the support more than she thought. A pair of white leggings to cover her legs, a white scarf and new boot socks covered her skin slowly as the girl attempted to work against her resisting muscles.

Knowing her hair would dry into a mess she couldn't contain, she twisted the sheets up into a ballerina bun and went to work on reapplying her makeup. Finally believing she got it back to the point she had before, Amethyst pulled her boots back on and grabbed a leather jacket out of her closet.

The girl worked her way back down the stairs carefully and grabbed an umbrella before stepping back into the rain. She walked over to Tyler who was sitting in his van patiently, trying not to limp or walk too heavily.

Amethyst climbed in, wincing slightly at the pressure she had put on her knee. Tyler made a face when she did so but remained silent. She could feel him staring at her as she closed her umbrella and snapped the door shut.

"What?"

"How did you hide your bruises with makeup?"

She sighed. "You've commented on what I can do with makeup before when Jasper split my lip. Does it surprise you I have a talent?"

"Not at all. It actually just concerns me as to what else I've been missing."

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking to see a thermos between the two of them. "What's that?"

"Tea," he replied, putting the car into gear. "I knew you would take a while to change so I made some for you."

"I don't like tea."

"Drink it anyway."

She sighed, giving in and grabbing the hot drink to try to chase her chills away. The rain hadn't helped, she was sure.

"Why does it smell like cinnamon?"

"It's chai tea. Drink it."

The flavor wasn't the greatest in her opinion, but the warmth did begin to spread through her body.

Tyler pulled all the way to the back of the lot to find a parking spot when they arrived at school, ushering Amethyst out the moment they parked.

"First period literally just started," Tyler said, using the girl's hand to guide her toward the school.

She checked her watch and made a face, noticing they were two minutes late. Tyler escorted the girl all the way to her class, dropping a kiss on top of her head before turning around to his own.

Everyone turned to stare when Amethyst walked in, muttering an apology to her teacher. He didn't say anything to her as she slid in next to Angela, who looked relieved to see the brunette.

When the bell rang, Angela turned to her immediately. "I was so worried when you and Tyler weren't here this morning. We all were, but none of us knew how to reach out to you guys to see if you were okay."

Amethyst smiled a bit at the girl. "Didn't you tell me not to worry so much when he was running late yesterday?" She tucked her books back into her bag before another voice joined the conversation.

"You were late, Ms. Ashford."

She looked up guiltily at Mr. Gulden. "I'm sorry, sir, we were having some car trouble this morning."

"I'm afraid that doesn't change the fact that you were not in school on time. Do you know the procedure when you show up late?"

"No, sir."

He sighed. "I have to tell the office you were running late and they'll call your parents to let them know."

"No!" Angela and Mr. Gulden's eyebrows shot up at the same time. "I mean please don't call my parents."

"I'm sorry Ms. Ashford, but that's procedure. Unless you have a circumstance that would justify us not calling."

Amethyst sighed slightly. "No sir. I just really, really would prefer it if you didn't call home."

Her teacher considered her contemplatively. "Alright. You were barely late. Do all the odd problems along with the even and we'll talk again tomorrow."

"Thank you," she replied, relief passing through her chest.

"Get to your next class." He studied the girl when she stood up and grabbed her bag.

She was careful to keep the bag in her hand instead of slinging it over her should like she would on a normal day. Amethyst followed Angela to the door, holding it open for the quiet girl.

"Ms. Ashford?"

She turned around to look at her teacher. "Mr. Gulden?"

He had his arms crossed while he looked at her. "You know you can talk to any of your teachers here if there's a problem."

"There isn't, sir. I just didn't want to disappoint my parents," she said, following Angela out of the classroom before he could say anything else.

Amethyst knew her walking was slightly unsteady, concerning her as she navigated her way between buildings. Alice frowned at the girl the instant she walked in to physics, causing the brunette to drop her eyes.

She avoided talking to anyone until lunch, when she was surprised to not see Tyler standing outside the cafeteria. Amethyst waited for him for a moment away from the crowds, confusion flowing through her. After most of the crowd passed by, she followed them inside to see Tyler already at their normal table, talking to Angela.

Amethyst quickly bought herself cranberry juice before heading over to the table. Her friends fell silent as she walked up to them, peaking her curiosity. The girl eased herself down into the chair, raising an eyebrow at her friends who were all watching her.

"What?"

Mike snorted. "You move like you're 80."

"Sue me, I'm sore."

"From what?" Eric wiggled his eyebrows at her, dividing the table between laughs and cringes.

"Just a long night," she replied, winking back at the boy.

Tyler huffed next to her, making her turn with raised eyebrows. He shook his head and her lips pressed into a line.

He reached over to lay his arm across the back of her chair. "You should go get more to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

Angela jumped in their conversation. "You weren't hungry last night either."

Amethyst groaned internally, not want to deal with the conversation again. She stood up quickly, wincing as she shoved her chair away. "You two have been giving me the third degree for the past two days and I'm done with it." Snatching her drink off the table, the girl walked away from the group who had been shocked into silence.

She walked into the hallway toward her locker with her head down. Amethyst tucked her morning books away, sighing before she dropped onto her butt in the middle of the walking path. She stared into her locker as she tried to keep the bruised part of her body off the ground.

A body sat down beside her, surprising the brunette. But because she wanted to be alone, she didn't look over or say anything.

They sat in silence as Amethyst slowly calmed down, picking at her leggings. A cold hand was placed on top of hers, stopping her motion.

"You pick at everything when you're nervous or bored."

She sighed, pulling her hand out from under Jasper's. "Why are you out here?"

"You more than kind of blew up at your friends and Alice sent me to check on you."

"Great. So Alice didn't care enough to come check herself and you do everything your girlfriend says." Amethyst wanted to get angry, but she felt herself remain calm.

Jasper shook his head, blonde curls moving subtly. "She's not my girlfriend."

"That's what Tyler told me and what everyone here thinks."

"You of all people should know it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. It's just high school. I don't care and neither should you."

Amethyst turned to the boy sitting next to her with the odd eye color. "I don't."

"You aren't acting like that today."

She sighed when he refused to break eye contact, the odd amber color back from the honey gold. "Why are you freezing?"

"Poor circulation. Why haven't you been eating?"

"Not hungry. Why are your eyes changing colors?"

Jasper finally broke eye contact to roll his. "Fluorescent lights play with the color oddly. Why are you limping today?"

"Fell down the stairs. Why doesn't your family associate with anyone?"

"We do. I'm speaking with you right now and you're coming to our house tomorrow. Why have you been wearing so many layers?"

"It's cold and everyone's bundled up," Amethyst mumbled pulling her leather jacket tighter around her body. "Why do you hate me?"

He snorted a way she wondered why she found attractive. "You don't always make yourself the easiest person to like. Why do you have so much makeup on today?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Is it a crime to want to look pretty?"

"No. But you look better with much less."

Amethyst's cheeks burned as she looked away, listening as Jasper stood up and walked away. After he was out of sight, she felt anger bubble back up within her. She reached out and kicked her locker door shut as well as she could from her position.

When the bell rang, she struggled to pull herself up with the locker doors and was glad she managed it before crowds poured back into the hallway. Amethyst made her way to the locker room, hiding behind the furthest divider from the entry to change.

The girl made her way into the gym walking only slightly unevenly, her eyes immediately drawn to Tyler. He looked upset, prompting the girl to make her way over to him.

They made eye contact and Amethyst smiled slightly. Tyler put a hand on her shoulder when she got close.

"We care."

"I know," she said softly, breaking eye contact. "I told you I'm not okay and sometimes I just need space to deal with that."

"Answer me one thing honestly." The girl didn't respond, but he sighed and continued anyway. "Did you purposefully fall down your stairs?"

Amethyst started in surprise. "Why would I do that?"

He shrugged slightly, dropping his arm. "We were just concerned." Tyler looked over at Coach Clapp as class began. "We'll talk later," he said softly, lining up to begin stretching.

Possibly the most painful gym class she had ever experienced ensued after, despite Amethyst hanging to the back while the rest of the class took part in a surprisingly competitive game of basketball.

Changing back almost made her cry as her tired muscles did not want to cooperate, but she managed to slide into literature moments before the bell rang with the paper she had written that weekend.

Emmett looked at Amethyst the same way Alice had when she walked into the final class of the day, making the girl sigh as she carefully sat down. He didn't say anything, instead continually looking at her throughout the class.

She shoved up from her desk and away from annoying golden eyes as the bell rang. Tyler quickly joined her and they headed to the van in silence. Amethyst threw her book bag into the back and climbed in, tucking the borrowed thermos back into the cup holder.

"Are you going to explain why you wanted to know if I threw myself down the stairs?" She cranked the heat when he started the car, settling deeper into her jacket.

Tyler sighed, adjusting his mirrors. "Angela and I were concerned you'd been hurting yourself. You never show your arms and are really reserved in your emotions unless they're exploding. Moving is a lot to deal with and we wanted to know if you were okay."

"I wouldn't do that," Amethyst said softly. "I wouldn't purposefully injure my body. I could never understand what people go through that makes them feel as if they have to do that."

Tyler reached over and tucked some baby hairs behind her ear. "I'm glad to hear that." He checked the clock on the dash as he pulled his hand away. "What time do you need to be at your interview?"

"3 p.m." She checked the clock as well. "Can we stop and get hot chocolate before going to the library?"

The boy shook his head and smiled as he threw the car into gear. "You have an obsession."

"With trying to be warm," she defended. "It's so cold out."

"Are you sure you don't have a fever or something? I don't feel as if your chronic chill is natural."

Amethyst shrugged and looked out the window, wishing she could pull her knees to her chest without pain. "Not as far as I know." They stopped at the gas station where Amethyst went inside while Tyler gassed up the van. She had tried to pay for part of the tank but he argued stopping to pick her up was so barely out of his way she didn't have any right to be paying.

She grabbed herself a hot chocolate and Tyler a Mountain Dew and beef jerky before getting in line. Eyes were piercing her, bringing Amethyst to glance around in surprise.

Two guys were staring her down as she stepped up to the counter, making her uncomfortable. She heard them follow her out of the store and hurried her steps as much as she could without killing her knee. Amethyst walked straight past Tyler into the van, releasing a shaky breath when she was inside.

"What was that about?" The boy laughed as he climbed into the car, grabbing his snacks from her.

She shrugged slightly, sighing when he gave her a pointed look. "Two guys inside made me feel uncomfortable."

"Did they say anything to you?"

"No just their gazes were freaking me out. It's so different from New York here and I just get unnerved by people sometimes."

Tyler started the van and drove off as she leaned into the vents. The library was conveniently near the school and gas station, a fact Amethyst rather appreciated.

They pulled in about 15 minutes before her interview. The girl nervously sipped on her hot chocolate as they quietly looked at the brick building. Tyler shook the bag of beef jerky at her and she took a piece, nibbling on it as the seconds passed.

After a few minutes she sighed and undid her seat belt. Tyler leaned over and pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "You'll be great."

"You've been kissing me a lot today," she commented, pulling the visor down to check her makeup quickly.

He shrugged. "Someone should. And at this rate, it's not going to be Jasper Hale."

Amethyst snorted out a laugh and climbed out, walking in the main entrance of the library. She went to the desk just inside, picking at her jacket. Remembering what Jasper said earlier, the girl immediately tried to still her hands.

"Hi, I'm Amethyst Ashford. I'm looking for Chloe Harman?"

The redhead at the desk looked up, smiling at the girl. "Hi Amethyst, I'm Chloe. It's nice to meet you in person."

"Oh, of course, hello." Amethyst reached a hand across the desk and plastered a smile on her face, one the small woman returned.

"Hi again. If you hang on just one moment, I'll get someone to cover the desk while we chat."

The girl stepped back, keeping the smile as Chloe made some calls until a older man came and sat behind the desk.

Chloe stood up and motioned for Amethyst to follow her, leading her to an office that was behind the desk. The woman closed the door behind the two and the brunette eased herself into a chair.

"Now, Ms. Amethyst," Chloe smiled at her as she sat down behind the desk. "We reviewed your application but noticed you didn't have a resume attached."

"No ma'am, this would be my first job." Amethyst forced her hands still when she began pulling at the material of her dress.

The redhead nodded, pulling out the application. "Can you explain your connection to your references?"

"My references are my grandfather, whom I assisted at his law firm without actually working, my math teacher from my old school in New York I was very close with and my principal."

"What did you do to assist your grandfather?"

A smile pulled at her lips. "I used to go through archives for him, basically doing the work of a paralegal. He would explain the parameters of a case to me and I would attempt to find previous rulings that could benefit his argument or ones that went against him so he could find a counter argument before the defense attorney brought it up in court."

"You said you went through archives to do that?"

"Yes ma'am, Supreme Court rulings and district courts mainly. Pretty much everything is online these days, but the hard copies were always easier for my grandfather to work with."

Chloe nodded, her eyes scanning the application again. "You said your teacher in New York. Did you just move here?"

"I did."

"Any particular reason?"

Amethyst had to fight off the instinctive flinch. "My father is a politician whose term was up. He wanted to begin a career as a lobbyist, and my mother had contacts in Seattle that helped him land a job. She's a trauma surgeon, so she could work almost anywhere."

"Very cool. Now, tell me about your reading habits."

The girl's eyes and smile lit up, making Chloe grin back at her.

Almost an hour later, Amethyst walked out of the library and climbed immediately into Tyler's van. She grinned at her friend, leaning over and putting her forehead against his shoulder, the only part of her face she could use to do so without aggravating her bruises.

"Does this mean it went well?"

She smiled up at him. "I should be hearing back within the week. Thank you for convincing me to apply here."

He chuckled. "I just knew they are always looking for help and figured you would enjoy it more than serving." Tyler started the car, pointing all the vents immediately toward his friend.

"Don't forget you have to drive me tomorrow," Amethyst said, trying not to heave a sigh when they pulled up to her house.

Tyler grinned at her. "How could I forget? You have the great Cullen invasion tomorrow."

She smiled and shook her head at the boy, climbing out and going to shut the door.

"Hey." Amethyst looked up at the boy who had a serious look on his face. "Please, don't fall down any more stairs."

She pressed her lips together in some semblance of a smile before closing the door and heading in to a silent home.


	10. Dare You To Move Into The Beautiful Home

She paused when she reached into the cabinet for her hot chocolate, remembering Tyler's comments from the day before. Amethyst poked around to find tea instead, but was disappointed when she could only find green tea she knew belonged to her mother.

The girl pulled her jacket tighter around her body when she stepped outside. A white button down, left untucked and topped with an emerald green sweater covered her torso, which she also wrapped in her heaviest rain jacket. Amethyst had pulled on a pair of compression shorts underneath her black jeans and wrapped up her knee again before sliding on her boots again. She had grown rather tired of them, but wasn't going to risk her knee giving out on heels in front of the entire school.

Tyler hadn't pulled up yet, surprising Amethyst as she was never ready before the boy. She had expected to be running late that morning, given she had curled her hair and taken extra time with her makeup in preparation for going to the Cullen's house. The girl checked her watch and saw that it was about five minutes before he would pull up on a normal day.

"Not being able to find a position to sleep because your mother kicked you down the stairs probably helps you get ready earlier than most people," she grumbled, working her way down from her porch and heading to Tyler's house.

The morning was exceptionally cold to the brunette. Her wrist ached from her school bag hanging there, but she refused to pull her hands out of her pockets to adjust it.

Amethyst found herself struggling up the stairs to Tyler's house, ones that were much steeper than her own. She finally reached the top and raised her hand to knock, only for the door to open and a body collide with her own.

Fire erupted inside of her as Tyler crashed into her stomach without looking, making her slam backward into the porch railing behind her.

"Amethyst! Damn it," he said, trying to grab the girl only to be swatted away. She was in enough pain without him trying to put his hands on her. "What can I do? I'm so sorry. Do you want ice? Come sit down."

"No," she said, surprised there was air left in her lungs. Tears were prickling at her eyes, but she was doing everything in her power to not let them fall. "We were late yesterday and can't afford to be late today."

Tyler shook his head and grabbed her hand. "Come inside and sit down. Our parents will understand."

Amethyst yanked her hand out of his, wincing as she smacked her own leg due to the force she used to do so. The boy turned to her in surprise. "Please, Tyler, let's just go." She turned and walked down the stairs slowly, hearing the door pull shut behind them.

He joined her halfway down the stairs and tried to reach over to help her, but she pushed his hands away for the second time that day.

"Why will you not let me help you?" He sounded angry, which spiked Amethyst's anger as well.

"I'm not some doll who you need to baby every single damn step of the way. I can manage well enough on my own, thanks."

Tyler threw his hands to the air in frustration when they got to the bottom step. "Fine. Take your damn tea," he said, shoving a thermos into her hand. "Don't expect any more of it. Don't expect any arms to be thrown around you to help with your constantly freezing temperature that you won't do anything to fix. Don't expect any more rides, shared meals or anything. You clearly can't handle having real friends and I'm done with you snapping at me and not letting me in when I consider you one of my best friends. Happy December." The boy walked to his van and jumped in, starting it and leaving without Amethyst.

She stood there in shock, the thermos of tea beginning to grow too warm for her hand. She turned around and put it down on the stairs to his house and made her way back to her own house slowly.

Amethyst started her car and cranked the heat, not really feeling it as she pulled away from her house toward the school. She stopped and bought herself hot chocolate at the gas station and still pulled into the school early enough crowds were out in the lot.

She sighed and leaned her head back against the seat, cradling her drink to try and calm her shivers. The bell sounded through the lot, forcing the girl to cut her engine and climb out of the car.

"Hey." Amethyst jumped horribly, losing her grip on her drink momentarily. A hand snatched it before the cup could hit the ground, and the girl followed that arm up to an angry looking Alice. "I told you to ride with Tyler today."

"Circumstances rendered that impossible." She snatched her drink back and moved as quickly as her body could back to the school.

Alice followed beside her, still glaring up at the brunette. "Now you're going to get lost. What circumstances?"

Amethyst ignored the question, instead feeling herself snap again. "Great, so now I just can't do anything right, including something that hasn't even happened yet. Thanks, Alice, great confidence builder there. Actually, why don't you just finish the project on your own?"

"You have all the pictures."

She dug around in her bag until she found the case for her memory card and external hard drive, forcing the small chip into the girl's hand. "There, now what excuse do you have?"

"It's a group project and I'm not going to be the one left with all the responsibility." The short girl had a surprisingly tight grip on her arm, forcing her to turn. "What is wrong with you? I know you're normally defensive but you're just downright rude today."

Tears welled up into the girl's eyes again and she turned around, throwing her fist against the brick wall of her building. The pain made her calm down slightly as whispers echoed around the two of them. Neither girl said anything as the crowds walked by, staring and commenting.

"Feel better?"

A tear slid down from Amethyst's eye. "No. I feel worse." She was upset her anger had pushed her to throw a punch. She had promised herself to never be like her parents, but she was so overwhelmed by life something inside of her snapped.

Alice's hand appeared on the taller girl's shoulder with a handkerchief. "Wrap it in this and clean it after class. You don't have time right now."

She mindlessly took the object and used it to dab at her face, hoping her makeup would blend over the tear track. Amethyst looked down and saw her knuckles were scraped, figuring out that was what Alice had given her the cloth for originally. She wrapped it up and walked into her class, sitting down in the back moments before the bell rang.

After class, she walked to Mr. Gulden and looked at the man apprehensively. He reached over and grabbed her homework out of the stack the class had passed forward. He glanced through her answers, nodding slowly.

Mr. Gulden looked up with a small smile. "Impeccable as usual, Ms. Ashford. Don't show up late again."

"Yes sir," she said, quickly leaving the classroom but knowing his eyes were on her as she did.

Amethyst went to wash her hands, trying not to cry when the soap stung her cuts. She also rinsed out the handkerchief as much as she could before walking to physics.

"I don't want it back," Alice said the instant the brunette slid in next to her.

A frown pulled at her lips. "Am I that gross?"

Her tinkling laugh suited the small girl. "Not at all, I just have enough and you never know when you need one." She smiled at Amethyst, their argument from earlier easily forgotten.

"I'll follow you guys home today after school to help you with the project."

"I truly am concerned about you getting lost," Alice said, her face turning to a slight frown. "We'll figure something out after school."

When Amethyst walked to lunch, Tyler was waiting outside the cafeteria. She didn't say anything to him as they got in line.

"Did you drink the tea?"

"No. I left the thermos on your doorstep so you could find it when you got home."

"You should've drunk the tea."

"You told me not to expect it anymore," Amethyst said, picking up a cup of soup. "I didn't want to make it part of my daily routine."

Tyler groaned in frustration as they moved to pay for their food. "Look, let's just get a table for you, me and Angela. We have a lot of talking to do."

She shrugged and walked to an empty table. "You guys can sit if you want. Angela probably won't want to move away from Ben."

"That's not true." The tall girl slid in next to her friends who both turned toward her. "Ben may mean a lot to me, but you do as well." Angela's cheeks reddened, something that would make Amethyst smile on any other day.

The girl opened her soup and started stirring it, not making eye contact with either person at the table. For the first time, the silence around the group was awkward as they all picked at their food.

Angela broke first, leaning over and pulling Amethyst's hands into hers. "You need to tell us what's going on with you."

"Who says anything's going on with me?"

"You're intolerably moody, you move like you're 80, your face is bruised and you've been lying to us about why, you literally are always cold and won't eat anything and you punched a wall earlier today." Tyler ticked the issues off on his fingers. "Not to mention the way you acted while Angela was in your house when you mom came down stairs, which has to have something to do with why I'm not allowed in your house. Plus, everyone's saying you punched a wall today, a fact confirmed by the state of your knuckles."

The girl immediately grew defensive. "I was trying to eat when Angela grabbed my hands," she said, feeling as if that was the safest argument to pick.

"No, you were picking at your food, just like always." Tyler leaned forward. "You owe us the truth."

"I don't owe you anything."

The boy's laugh as filled with mirth. "You would be even more miserable here if I hadn't dragged you to our table."

"I literally took a hit for you," Angela added, her hands still on Amethyst's. "But it doesn't matter. Because we're friends and we're concerned. So talk to us."

She sighed and pulled her hands out from under the other girl's. "I fell down the stairs because I have a cold. I got dizzy and lost my footing. It's the same reason I'm so cold and don't feel hungry," she lied. Although she did give them information she didn't actually know, so she supposed it wasn't all a lie. "And I just got overwhelmed this morning and did punch a wall."

Angela's face softened but Tyler's didn't. "You haven't said a word about the flu and I'm pretty sure people don't react that dramatically."

"I guess the weather is just dragging me down more than most," Amethyst replied, not breaking eye contact with the boy. She knew how to lie and would not break for the people of Forks. Even though the two at her table mattered to her more than she would really like to admit, she wasn't going to drag them into her mess.

Tyler finally nodded and leaned back, his face relaxing as well. "You would tell us if something was wrong, wouldn't you?"

"Of course." The reply was instant, but Amethyst knew better than to look at him when she delivered it, instead forcing a bite of her soup.

When they left government that day, Tyler pulled her to his side and hissed the top of her head, careful to keep his arm around her shoulders. "Have fun today. I'm sorry I didn't drive you."

"It's okay. I probably deserved it anyway."

"Little bit," he replied, smirking at her.

Another hand grabbed her from the other side, yanking her away from Tyler and jolting the girl to the point where it was painful. "Sorry lover boy, we have a project due tomorrow."

He laughed as Amethyst tried to break Alice's grip, but the shorter girl held tight as they walked to the Jetta in the parking lot.

Alice turned to look at her when they reached the car and put her hand out. "Keys."

"Um, no?"

"Do you not trust me?"

Amethyst put a hand on her car protectively. "My grandparents and I bought this car together and I love it. No one else has ever driven it."

"And Jasper will do a great job, now trust me and hand them over."

"Jasper?"

She nodded, her hand still out expectantly. "He's going to drive your car back to the house. Rosalie drove her car with Emmett and you'll ride with Edward and myself."

"Can I not just drive with directions or a GPS or something?"

"I've told you that you will get lost if you drive. It doesn't matter the circumstance."

Amethyst heard a jingle and looked over to see her keys in Jasper's hand as he smirked, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"I'm pretty sure this is illegal."

Alice waved to Jasper and pulled Amethyst over to the silver Volvo. Edward was watching them with a barely noticeable smirk as the slightly girl basically shoved the brunette into the back of the car. She met his gaze in the mirror, considering the different ways she could kill Alice and potentially him as well. His lips twitched up further at her, making the girl roll her eyes and look away.

"I still don't understand why you're so convinced I'd get lost."

Alice sighed, looking out the window as Edward pulled out of the mostly empty lot. "Because our house is hard to find and there are places in Forks where it'd be difficult for us to navigate you back from and we didn't want you to end up there."

"So your solution was grant theft auto?"

"We didn't steal your car. Jasper will take care of it. Better than anyone else, actually, barring Rosalie."

Amethyst leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms, before another thought brought her back forward. "Why couldn't I just ride with him in my car then?"

"You ask a lot of questions." Edward's voice surprised the girl, with an attractive quality to it. Although, it wasn't as alluring as Jasper's, so she managed to shove the thought aside.

"You don't answer a lot of questions." His smirk annoyed her, as it gave him a look of knowing something she didn't.

Alice turned the radio up then, effectively ending the conversation. Edward's eyes glanced back to Amethyst one more time.

"Put on your seat belt."

"Keep your eyes on the road," she snapped back, annoyed at being treated like a child.

The rest of the ride to their house was quiet. Amethyst was surprised by the long driveway leading back to their house, but it was nothing compared to her feelings when she saw their house.

A large, three-story house was painted an off white with a similarly colored porch wrapped around it. There was a certain gracefulness to it that intrigued the girl who couldn't take her eyes off of it.

"What do you think?"

She looked away from the window to see Alice smiling back at her while Edward looked at her in the mirror.

"I wouldn't have gotten lost while driving here," she grumbled, opening the car door to climb out.

They had parked in front of a giant garage, where Amethyst presumed at least ten cars could fit. The home itself seemed to tower over her and she instantly fell in love with it.

As she trailed behind Edward and Alice toward the door, she heard another car coming up the driveway. Before she could turn to look, she felt the heat rolling off her own car onto her leg. Amethyst looked in surprise as Jasper parked her car a mere foot from her.

He climbed out with a small smirk on his face, tossing the keys over to her. "Still in one piece," Jasper commented, walking by her into the house.

The electric blue eyes gazed at the gap between her legs and the car, surprised she wasn't more disturbed by it. A hand tugged on her jacket and brought the girl back to reality, following Alice inside.

"Welcome home." A beautiful woman with caramel hair practically floated down the stairs, smiling at the three who walked in the door. "I'm Esme," she said, focusing on the brunette.

"Amethyst," the girl replied, staring at the woman unintentionally. "Pleasure to meet you."

The woman's smile was so kind, drawing Amethyst instantly to her. Esme's look shifted to the three around the girl, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Aren't any of you going to take Amethyst's coat or offer her a drink?"

"No, it's really fine," she laughed as the three turned to her at once. "I'll keep my jacket if you don't mind."

Esme tilted her head slightly with a look of concern on her face. "Is it cold in here? We can warm it up."

"No, no, it's really just me," she waved the woman off with a small laugh. "I do appreciate it though."

"We can warm it up before you two start on your project," she said, nodding to Alice who walked away instantly. "And Jasper, will you please go make her something to drink?"

Amethyst immediately started to argue, but was silenced when the woman raised her hand. "Coffee, tea or hot chocolate?"

"Hot-" she stopped herself, thinking about Tyler. "Chai tea, please, if it isn't too much of a bother."

"Of course it isn't. Edward will take you into the living room where you can set up and wait for Alice."

Amethyst felt her feet move behind Edward as he walked past the spiral staircase to several large couches with a giant television mounted on the wall and a fireplace underneath it. She was drawn immediately to the giant glass window which overlooked a river and stared out in amazement.

"Wonderful, isn't it," Edward commented, moving to stand next to her.

She nodded, still staring out there. "I bet it's even more beautiful when it's sunny."

He chuckled. "You have no idea. Esme redid this house entirely before we moved here. It's more than one hundred years old."

"Wow," she whispered, pulling her focus back inside to the interior. "It's fantastic."

"Thank you so much," Esme said, smiling when she walked back into the room with Jasper. The boy was carrying a mug in his hand, steam rising from the rim. "It's so nice to have people over so I can show it off."

Amethyst walked over to Jasper to take the mug from him, muttering her thanks as she wrapped her hands around the warm mug. Their hands brushed during the exchange, his fingers ghosting over the cuts on her knuckles from earlier. He immediately stepped away, causing Amethyst to look down with slight embarrassment.

"Be careful," Esme warned, drawing the girl's attention back to her, before she turned to her sons. "Boys, upstairs. Alice and Amethyst are not to be bothered." She raised an eyebrow but had a smile on her face, a fact the girl appreciated.

The brunette blew across the mug to chase the steam away as the two boys made their way upstairs. Amethyst smiled at the woman when it was just the two of them.

"I really do appreciate this."

"Nonsense," Esme smiled at the girl. "It's nice to have people in the house."

"Mom, we're ready." Alice walked back in with a laptop while Emmett trailed behind her with a printer. They quickly hooked up the equipment as Amethyst sipped on her tea, unsure of how to help.

Esme asked Emmett for his help with something after he set up the printer. He tossed a wink at Amethyst before following his mother out.

"Your family is wonderful," Amethyst muttered to Alice as she went to sit beside the girl, sliding her mug onto a coaster.

"They're pretty good," the small girl murmured as she powered up the laptop, "but I wouldn't recommend living with them. I still have your memory card, but did you bring your laptop?"

"Your mother is literally perfect for the role." Amethyst thought about her own mother with distaste as she walked over to her bag she had dropped by the end of the couch and pulled it out, booting it up as she walked back. "Where are the canvases?"

Alice was staring at something on the screen with scrunched eyebrows. "Labeled and sorted, still upstairs in my room. Hey, did you give me the correct memory card? There are all cool, but not what I was looking for."

Amethyst blushed, realizing she had wiped the project from her card to make room for her photography assignment.

The girls printed all their images and finished up the lab report. Amethyst shed her coat halfway through, surprisingly warmed by the house. After reading through a hard copy of the report to make sure everything made sense, the taller girl stood up and stretch, groaning slightly when the action made her muscles ache.

"Getting old, are we?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow when the sound escaped the other girl.

Amethyst snorted, draining the last of her tea. "Something like that. Should put my cup in the sink or dishwasher?"

"Nah, just leave it there," Alice said, shutting her laptop and looking up at the girl. "Are you okay?"

"Of course. Why?" A small amount of panic rose up inside the girl as she reached over to grab her coat.

The black haired girl shrugged. "That stretch sounded painful and I wanted to make sure you hadn't actually sprained an ankle or something. You haven't worn heels in a few days."

Amethyst raised an eyebrow, looking down at her boots. "Well yeah, everything's fine. Thanks for checking."

Alice walked the girl out to her car in the driveway, making small talk. Amethyst tightened her jacket as much as she could, surprised by the cold after being inside the house, and stood outside of her Jetta with a raised eyebrow.

"So you'll let me drive home but you won't let me drive here?"

"It's easiest to get lost the first time you go somewhere," Alice explained away, smiling at the girl. "We'll see you at school tomorrow."

Amethyst climbed into her car, cranking the heat back up. She also had to slide her seat forward and adjust all her mirrors, causing a twinge of irritation inside the girl toward Jasper Hale before she put the Jetta into gear and headed home.


	11. Dare You To Move Toward The Truth

The next morning was peaceful, as she was the only person in the house. Amethyst applied a large amount of pain relief cream to her body she had purchased on her way home the night before immediately after getting out of the shower. The girl walked around in just a towel while the cream dried, softly humming to herself.

Half an hour later, makeup done and every inch of her body covered with a New York sweatshirt and her favorite pair of jeans, she made her way out to her car. The rain was supposed to stay away, so she had pulled on a pair of fuzzy boots that put her in a good mood. She was comfortable but didn't look too lazy with her hair twisted away from her face.

Amethyst pulled in to the spot next to Tyler, smiling at the group waiting for her. Tyler was there to open the door for her as soon as she parked.

"Do you not want me to be warm?" She asked with a small laugh as he pulled her out of the car.

Tyler didn't respond immediately, instead showing extreme concern on his face. "Let's skip school today."

Amethyst's eyebrows shot up as she closed her car door. "Are you going crazy?" She grabbed the thermos out of his hand and immediately cradled it to stop her shivers.

"No, it's just one of the last Fridays of the semester and the beach sounds like fun and we should go there."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to get that call home to my parents, but you guys can go."

Tyler grabbed her shoulders. "Please, listen to me. Do not go inside."

"Why? Is the building about to blow up or something?"

Angela joined the other two. "Amethyst, let's go. You don't want to deal with those people today."

The good mood she had been supporting since she woke up was gone at this point, annoyance instead filling her. "You guys better tell me what's going on otherwise I'm not going anywhere," she said, tapping on the thermos impatiently.

"Hey, bitch!"

Amethyst turned with her eyebrows raised, surprised to see Lauren smirking at her with a group of students around her staring at the brunette.

"Shouldn't you have been suspended for smacking Angela or something?"

She shrugged as she walked closer to the group. "Guess it pays off when no one tells the teachers anything."

"I suppose it does." Amethyst raised an eyebrow as Angela pulled her back and bit and Tyler moved himself between her and Lauren.

The other girl apparently didn't appreciate their reactions. "Really? You're still going to protect her? After she's been lying to you this entire time?"

"Shut up about things you don't understand," Tyler said in a warning tone. "You just need to back the hell off."

"Her family got run out of New York because of her. She kept her dad from being re-elected. You guys really still think she's worth your time?"

Amethyst brushed Angela's arm off and stepped around Tyler, looking at the piece of paper in Lauren's hand.

"Whatcha got there?"

The blonde smirked. "Enough information for you to go running back out of Forks to some new place where you can hide until they figure out who you really are, too."

The brunette held her hand out for the paper, prompting Lauren to let out a sarcastic laugh. "Trust me dear, there are plenty of copies inside for you."

Rolling her eyes, Amethyst reached out and snatched the article from the other girl's hand. She scanned the article before laughing lightly.

Lauren obviously wasn't a fan of her reaction. "What? It's funny that everyone knows your secret?"

"No, it's just funny that you got the wrong article."

"Nice diversion technique, but that's you. It's got your name in the second paragraph."

Amethyst looked down at the New York Times article. "You're not wrong about that. But this article has incomplete information. Reporters released it with information from the cops while the investigation was still open. Of course they were going to, because it was huge breaking news that their senator was in a rollover car crash that sent him and his daughter to the hospital. But this is not correct."

"Yeah, right," Lauren sneered at her. People kept joining the crowd around the girls, quite a few of them clutching their own copies of the article. "You're just trying to cover your ass."

"Actually, no. Check the Times from two weeks later and you'll see the updated story." Amethyst crumbled the paper and tossed it to the blonde. "Nice try, but half-assed attempt."

"Then what actually happened? Since you're accusing a huge newspaper of publishing false information."

The brunette held up her hands. "I said they reported on the information they had, which is absolutely true. If you want to have this conversation with me, we can have it somewhere else because all these people don't need to know anything more about my life than you falsely revealed to them through the article." She grabbed two arms and walked through the crowds, dragging Tyler and Angela behind her.

The three of them walked to Amethyst's locker together, ripping down articles that seemed to be taped everywhere. The brunette sighed as they all shoved handfuls into the trashcan and there were still hoards covering the hallway.

"I didn't lie to you guys," Amethyst said, walking back to start pulling more articles down. "I never told anyone why we moved here."

"Is that not essentially just as bad?" Angela asked softly, moving beside the girl. "We keep finding out things about you that don't come from you."

The brunette sighed, turning to look at Tyler who had a similarly upset look on his face. "Fine. Let's find a corner of the cafeteria today and we can talk." She threw the last bunch of fliers she pulled down into the trash can and spun open her locker to grab her morning books.

Tyler walked with Angela and Amethyst to class, none of them saying anything. He reached over to drop a kiss on the shorter girl's head and squeezed the taller girl's shoulder before walking to his own class.

Mr. Gulden stared Amethyst down as they walked into the classroom which she purposefully ignored. Angela hovered protectively throughout the class, slamming her book or coughing loudly when people began saying things with a bit too much volume. She also walked Amethyst to her next class, making the shorter girl look up at her and laugh humorlessly.

"If you think these are the worst things people have ever said about me, you haven't been listening for long enough," she said, drinking more of the chai tea from the thermos she took from Tyler.

"It may not be, but they're talking about something that's personal and that's not okay."

She sighed, screwing the lid on the thermos tightly. "It may suck, but it was newsworthy because of who my family was in New York. If you think this is rough to deal with, you should've seen my school the day I went back after the story ran." Amethyst gave a tight smile. "Don't worry too much about things. You told me that."

Angela blushed slightly but gave her friend a worried smile, walking away to her own class. Amethyst walked in to physics, snorting when she couldn't see Alice behind the stack of canvases on their desk.

"Making a fort?" she quipped, lowering herself into her chair slowly.

Alice nodded. "Want to join? I'm rather done with people today."

"Tell me about it," the brunette grumbled, grabbing the photographs and flipping back through them.

Both groups turned in their projects and briefly explained their work to the four people who hadn't been involved with the work. Alice thankfully seemed to have planned for that and did all of the talking. Their professor gave them a free period after their presentations, warning the next week would be exam review.

"Thank you guys," Mallory said, turning to the other two girls, "for being willing to do all that."

"We really didn't plan out the timing well," James admitted with a guilty look on his face.

Alice waved them off with a grin. "Everything worked out in the end."

Amethyst was nodding with a smile when Mallory turned to her. "So, Amethyst, is the article really true?"

"Does it matter?" she asked, instantly growing defensive.

"Kind of. It sounded like you almost killed your dad."

"Don't believe everything you read."

James raised his eyebrows. "But it's the New York Times."

"Guys, leave her alone," Alice said, looking worriedly as Amethyst shoved up from the desk. The girl winced slightly at the jolt it sent through her sore arms, but she grabbed her bag and walked up to her teacher. Lauren was one thing, but people who had been kind to her up to that point didn't need to be making any accusations.

"May I go photo lab? I have a project due in that class as well next period and want to make sure I get everything together."

Her teacher wrote out a hall pass and Amethyst walked out of the room, able to breathe slightly more easily when she was away from the peering eyes. However, the articles still hanging in the hallway didn't make her feel any better, so she put her head down and walked toward the photo lab.

An actual class only used the room twice a day, and her teacher had invited anyone who needed to work on the off periods as long as they had a note from their teachers. Amethyst walked in, noticing two of the three computers were already taken while the darkroom was marked as active.

She walked up to Mrs. Constantino, smiling slightly when she handed over her hall pass.

"Amethyst, you know you have longer on this project if you need it. I assigned it almost two weeks before you moved here."

"I know, but all I have left to do is create my CMYK and 8 bit copies for each photo and then I'll be ready."

Her teacher nodded at her with a small smile. "Alright, go ahead."

Amethyst walked over to the computers, poking through her bag to grab her external hard drive. The open chair was, of course, between the two who were already there working, so the girl slid in with a small sigh. The computer booted slowly as did Photoshop, but she immediately dove into her work with her 10 selected photos.

She felt eyes piercing through her after a few minutes, so Amethyst turned to the side to see a guy she didn't remember before was staring her down.

"What?" she said, sure her face conveyed the annoyance she felt about her work being interrupted.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "So were you trying to kill your father and yourself? Or are you really just insane like everyone's saying?"

"Back off," the girl to Amethyst's right snapped, surprising the brunette. She turned to see Rosalie Hale glaring daggers at the boy, who instantly shrunk back in his seat. "You don't know her nor do you know the situation."

The blonde turned back to her computer and the boy did as well, albeit rather slumped. Amethyst looked at the girl for a moment longer but received no recognition, so she turned back to her own work as well.

The boy shot off like a rocket the instant the bell rang, but Rosalie took her time to close down her computer properly.

"Thank you," Amethyst said softly when the girl stood up. "You didn't have to do that."

Honey gold was such an unusual eye color, and it bothered the brunette the entire adopted family seemed to share it. Rosalie's eyes seemed to pierce the girl, but she refused to look away. "Don't mention it," the blonde said, her heels snapping as she headed out of the classroom.

Amethyst was mostly left alone for her next two periods, pleasantly surprised when Tyler was waiting outside her chemistry class. She sank into his side happily when he tossed an arm around her shoulders, feeling grateful for the warmth that radiated off him.

Tyler forced more soup and a bottle of apple juice on the girl before grabbing a hamburger and fries for himself. Amethyst pulled a brownie on her tray as well, convinced she was going to need chocolate after their conversation.

Angela had a table claimed for the group immediately beside the doors, a place most students seemed to avoid. The other two grabbed their seats around the table which sat four instead of the usual eight. Amethyst pulled the lid off her soup and blew on it, stirring the noodles around slowly. She took a bite and looked up, surprised to see the other two staring at her.

She sighed and leaned back, glaring at the other two. "Could we at least eat lunch first? I've been dealing with questions all day."

They leaned over to start their own lunches but Amethyst felt herself losing her appetite. She shoved her tray away and scratched the back of her neck, unsure of where exactly to start.

"The article was going off what police said in their preliminary investigation, like I told Lauren. It looked as if I was the driver in the car because the driver's side airbag didn't go off while the passenger's side did. My injuries were much more severe, which would imply I hadn't been protected. When a piece of the windshield stabbed into my chest, it cut through my seat belt while my dad wasn't wearing one. The car was on is top by the time crews arrived on scene, and neither of us were in a seat anymore.

"Since my dad was drunk, instead of accusing him of his second OVI, cops went with an admittedly logical assumption I had lost control while driving him home from the bar. In all reality, we were driving back from my grandfather's firm where I had been working late. He had come to pick me up because he was angry I hadn't finished cleaning my room or something. Thankfully, the car had rolled on a patch of ice near our road when no one else was around.

"I was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Since my mom's a trauma surgeon, she was the one who had to operate on me. I don't really remember any of it. It's funny how they say your life flashes before your eyes, but I just remember not being afraid. Like I never screamed, never freaked out, I guess because things don't set in when they happen so instantly. But yeah. It's really not all that great of a story. It just ends up with a lot of scars and a cross-country move."

Amethyst reached out for her apple juice, picking at the cap while the other two people at the table stared at her. She purposefully looked around the cafeteria instead of meeting their eyes, her gaze falling on the Cullen's table. All five of them were sitting with their backs ramrod straight, which caused her eyebrow to raise. She watched one of the bodies stand up and walk over to them.

"I'm sorry," Alice said, sliding in to the open chair, "about class today. I wasn't expecting them to be quite so blunt."

"No, it's fine. I got to finish up my project for photography. Besides, who cares what the people at this high school think?" Amethyst snorted slightly, thinking of an analogy her grandfather would use when he had a particularly difficult case. "I'm a boulder they wouldn't dare to try to move."

Alice nodded with a small smile, studying the girl. "By the way, Jasper thinks he left the notebook he was bringing home yesterday in your car. Did you happen to see it?"

"No, but I can look after school." Her friend's eyes widened at Alice's comment, giving them looks Amethyst normally would have found humorous.

"Okay, he'll meet you by your car after government," she replied, using one of her blinding smiles.

A thought occurred to Amethyst as the small girl stood up to walk away. "Why are you guys always each others messengers? You sent him after me the other day and now you came to talk in his place."

"We both have our specialties. Jasper's much better at calming people down while I'm better at making plans." Alice grinned and wiggled her fingers over her shoulder before heading back to her lunch table.

Amethyst finally made eye contact with her friends. "Stop staring."

"What is with you and the Cullens?" Tyler asked, throwing an arm around the back of her chair. "Lauren wasn't wrong when she said they pay a lot of attention to you."

She shrugged, reaching over to dab her finger in ketchup before smearing it on the boy's nose. "I don't like to ponder things I can't control."

While Tyler was protesting and cleaning off his nose, Angela laid a warm hand on her friend's.

"You don't have to deal with things on your own, you know." The tall girl patted her hand softly before going back to her own lunch.

Amethyst wished with every fiber of her being that sentence was true.

After government, Emmett tossed a wink to the girl, making her raise an eyebrow as her mouth quirked up. "May I help you?"

"It was just nice to have you over yesterday," he said, nodding to Tyler when the three fell into step. "Esme insisted we invite you back over at some point."

"She's much too kind to me," Amethyst said, but a pleasantly warm feeling filled her for the first time in more than a week. She turned her attention to Tyler for a moment. "Let's do something this weekend."

"Sure. I'll call you after practice?"

"Of course." She gave him a half smile as he walked away before looking back to Emmett. "Will you thank both Esme and Rosalie for me?"

"Rose?" The muscular guy raised an eyebrow at her, but she waved and split away from him toward Jasper.

She unlocked her car as she grew closer. "How did you forget your notebook?"

"I was simply happy to be home and it slipped my mind," Jasper said, turning when Amethyst grew closer.

"Well, sorry you couldn't do your homework yesterday," she said, pulling open the passenger door. "I don't see it."

"Would you mind if I looked?

"Be my guest." Amethyst stepped away from her car, picking at her sleeve mindlessly.

Jasper looked immediately to her hands. "You're doing it again."

"Sorry," she said, instantly dropping her hands. She instead began chewing on the inside of her lip. "Hey, Jasper, could you guys not tell your dad about the article thing? I don't want him to bring it up to my mom."

"Why are you so concerned about your mother finding out about things that happen at school? Do you not talk to her?" the blonde asked, poking around her car to find the notebook.

"I do," Amethyst said, instantly defensive despite the lie. "This move was just really important to get a fresh start and arguing with her boss's children and having the exact reason we moved be broadcast down the halls are exactly the type of things she would rather avoid."

Jasper rocked back on his heels. "But the second one isn't your fault. And it doesn't matter whose children we are, teenagers get into arguments."

"Yeah, well, it's just easier this way."

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" His eyes scanned the girl, making her feel slightly violated, as if he knew all of her secrets.

"Why is everyone in this school convinced I'm a compulsive liar?" she said, hoping the statement would defer his questioning. "And besides, even if it wasn't, it's my business and no one else really has any right to pry into it."

He shook his head at her. "I was just trying to make sure you're okay. Don't make enemies with the handful of people who are actually watching out for you here." Jasper stood up and slammed the door to her car shut. "Sorry, I actually must have left my notebook in my locker."

As he turned to walk away, Amethyst felt regret bubble up. "Jasper, I'm sorry." She spoke softly, but he nodded his recognition as he continued toward the silver Volvo.

She felt stuck there for a moment, staring as the Cullens all climbed into the car and sped out of the lot. Her lips pursed as she glanced around, noticing Angela was still by the school and in a conversation with Ben. The shorter boy touched Angela's hand before he walked away, and the brunette could see the huge grin on her face as she approached.

"Let's do something this weekend," Amethyst said when she was within earshot. "Get everyone together who doesn't hate me and go Christmas shopping in Port Angeles."

"They don't hate you," Angela said immediately, making the brunette roll her eyes with a small smile at her friend. "But I don't know if I can. Part of the reason my parents let me go last time was because we said it was our last chance before the weather turned bad. Plus, my parents weren't too happy when I showed up with a bruise on my face." The girl hadn't been able to entirely cover the mark with makeup, so Amethyst could see it was about half healed.

"That's fair. We'll have to figure something else out then." Amethyst reached over to hug the girl, careful not to aggravate any of her injuries. "Thank you."

The taller girl seemed shocked. "For?"

"Caring," Amethyst said, smiling and turning back to her car. "Do you want a ride home?"


	12. Dare You To Move Foward In Life

Her father's car was in the driveway when Amethyst pulled in, filling the girl with instant dread, so she gave herself a moment to collect her thoughts in the driveway before making her way inside. Thankfully, the house was still, meaning neither of her parents were actually inside.

Amethyst trudged her way up the stairs to her room and peeled her jeans off. She frowned when they were too tight on her legs despite fitting around her waist, but pulled a pair of violet NYU sweatpants on to keep her warm.

She grabbed the phone after walking downstairs and went to turn on the television, deciding to watch a movie for the first time in a while. She flicked through their collection, sighing when she realized there weren't any ones that interested her in the house. Amethyst began flipping through the channels instead, wanting something to watch as she waited for Tyler to call. _Stuck in the Suburbs_ was on, and the girl let it play out with a bit of amusement at the irony.

Her legs ached when she pulled them on to her chest, the bruises on her abdomen also aching. Amethyst ignored it, wrapping her arms around her legs to keep in the warmth.

The phone rang about half an hour into the movie, making the girl jump. "Hello?"

"Hi, I was wondering if I could speak with Amethyst Ashford, please?"

"Speaking."

"Oh, hello dear. It's Chloe Harman from the library."

Amethyst sat up straighter, letting her feet drop off the chair. "Yes ma'am, of course. How are you?"

"I'm great, thanks for asking. Just curious, did you have a chance to walk around the library while you were here?"

"Yes ma'am, when I filled out an application my friend showed me both floors and the different sections."

"Good, good. And what did you think of it?"

A smile pulled up on the girl's face. "It's wonderful. Obviously it's no Library of Congress, but your sections are logical and the building has a great atmosphere to it. Plus, we saw the list of activities you do over the summer and throughout the semester. It seems as if you are very involved in the community."

"Yes, well we certainly like to be. So, Ms. Ashford, would you enjoy working here?"

"I'd love it." Her heart was pumping.

"Well, great! We've already made some calls to your references and they all spoke very highly of you. I was just wondering if you could provide me with one local reference? Just so we could make sure we know how you're adjusting."

Amethyst pulled on a strand of hair that was hanging down near her face. "I can ask one or two of my teachers to call on Monday." Another though occurred to her the moment the words slipped out of her mouth. "Could a family friend be a reference as well?"

"Of course. Just have any one of them give me a call as early next week as possible. Once we've caught up, I'll give you a call to figure everything else out. Sound good?"

"It sounds fantastic."

"You, my dear, are a very impressive sixteen-year-old and I'm excited by the chance of working with you. I'll call you next week."

"Thank you so much. I'll talk to you next week."

Amethyst could barely keep in a scream of excitement when she hung up the phone, instead laughing as she felt a tear slip down her face. The offer was a huge step in the right direction. She was proving her father wrong in the healthiest way possible, and she couldn't be happier.

The girl waited with excitement for the phone to ring again, answering it the second it did. "Guess what?"

"You're going to pay me a million dollars?"

Amethyst felt a frown tug at her lips. "Alice?"

"Hey, Esme wanted us to invite you over this weekend."

"She did? And how did you get this number?"

"Our parents work together, silly. We wanted to invite you over to watch a movie Saturday night and help us decorate the house for Christmas."

Amethyst snorted. "You wanted to invite me over to work?"

"No, more so making it possible for you to get out of the house if you wanted. An extra set of hands didn't ever hurt anyone, though."

"I don't know. I was going to hang out with Tyler and Angela this weekend and then get started on exam review work on Sunday."

"Well, let me know if your plans change. You can always review for exams here with us, since we have some classes together."

"Yeah, sure." The girl felt her lips pull down. "But doesn't like half your family hate me or something?"

A giggle came through the phone. "Jasper just gets moody, don't worry too much about him. Go ahead and call if you change your mind. My number is on the piece of paper I gave you before you came over for the physics project."

"I will." Amethyst wondered what she had done with the paper. Tuesday felt so very long ago. "Bye, Alice."

"Talk to you soon!"

She hung the phone up, staring at it curiously. Alice, in fact all of the Cullen family, always sounded as if they knew something she didn't. The screen on the phone lit up again, prompting the girl to answer it before even actually hearing a ring.

"Hello, Ashford residence."

"Were you staring at the phone waiting for me to call?"

Amethyst laughed at Tyler's comment, pulling her knees back up despite the pain. "No, you're actually my third call today."

"Popular, aren't we?"

"Apparently. How was practice?"

He sighed. "Not so great."

"What's wrong?"

"I think I sprained my ankle."

"Oh, Tyler," she said, a frown appearing on her face. "Are you still at school? Do you need a ride? Did you go to the doctor?"

"I'm fine, I just can't drive home. I'm using coach's cell phone. I already called Mom, but could you go pick her up so she can drive my van home? I really don't want to leave it here all weekend."

"Of course." She stood up and glanced down at her clothing, deciding it didn't matter that much. "We'll be there in about twenty minutes."

They hung up the phone and Amethyst quickly pulled her boots back on before heading out to her car. Her muscles didn't appreciate the movements, but she pushed it aside, focusing on helping her friend.

When his mother climbed into the car, she seemed a little bit surprised by the cranked heat. "Not adjusted to Forks weather yet?" The woman laughed, settling in as Amethyst headed toward the school.

"I guess not, considering the fact I'm basically always freezing." The girl reached over and turned the heat down. "Sorry about that."

"No worries, I actually just really appreciate the help."

"Of course. Tyler's been very kind to me since I moved here and it's nice to be able to repay him at least a little bit."

Mrs. Crowley smiled and reached over to pat Amethyst's knee, not realizing the shock of pain it would send through the girl. "He thinks the world of you. I'm so happy you two are friends."

Amethyst smiled slightly, more trying not to cry out from the pain. They drove in silence until they reached the school, where both women climbed out of the car.

Tyler waved weakly when they approached from his position on the curb with his left leg stuck straight out in front of him, ankle wrapped up.

"I knew it would happen eventually," his mother said with a laugh as they approached. "You've played too many sports for too long without any injuries that it was destined to happen."

The boy groaned as the two helped him up from the ground. He was careful not to put too much weight on Amethyst, always careful of her own injuries as they helped him hobble out to his van.

Once he was safely in the passenger's seat, he looked guiltily at Amethyst. "Looks like we aren't doing anything this weekend."

"It's alright. Angela said she probably wouldn't be doing anything this weekend either, so it gives me more time to review for finals." Amethyst didn't say anything about Alice inviting her over, figuring that would be an entirely different battle to pick, as even Tyler found her relationship with the Cullens odd. "You just focus on getting better."

"You, too."

She leaned over to kiss his cheek before closing the door as Mrs. Crowley thanked her again. Amethyst waved her comments off with a smile, walking over to her own car and cranked the heat back up the instant the engine turned over, not putting her car into gear until it had kicked in fully.

As she drove home, Amethyst considered the fact Alice had basically known her friends were going to be unavailable. The small girl had made a comment earlier about being good at making plans, but it didn't explain her seemingly uncanny knack for stepping in when necessary. She had been the one to pull Amethyst away when she had been ready to deck Lauren and she had seemed so sure the brunette would get lost while driving to their house. And then there was that phone call, where she had correctly predicted that neither of the brunette's friends would be available for the weekend.

She pulled into her driveway and parked, leaning back in her seat with a sigh. Amethyst didn't want to cut the engine, but knew it would be a better idea to go inside and curl up with a blanket. She could also make herself a cup of hot chocolate, a thought that was incentive enough to make her climb out.

Amethyst wasn't sure Alice could have predicted the fist that went across the girl's face as soon as she walked into the kitchen. She cried out as her father hit just above the spot her mother had Tuesday night, falling to the floor and curling herself up away from him.

"Why are you so stupid?" He was screaming at her, and Amethyst silently hoped a neighbor would hear and come save her. Dave punctuated each of his next words with a kick to the girl's shin. "Why do you not listen?"

"To what?" she cried, trying to pull herself out of the kitchen. Her body still ached from her mother's abuse and she was scared her father would create permanent damage.

Dave stomped over and grabbed her arm, yanking the girl up and dragging her to the living room. "Look!" he shouted, throwing the girl toward the television. She looked up and noticed it was still playing the movie she had turned on when she first got home.

Realization swept over the girl while dread bubbled from her stomach. "I had to go-"

"Do I look like I care?" He shoved Amethyst again while she was on the ground, putting her straight on her back. "You just don't listen and your mother and I are tired of it." He put his foot down on her chest, glaring at the girl.

"Dad, please," she begged, reaching up to wrap her hands around his leg and try to move it. "I was helping a friend."

Dave laughed as he began to press down on her chest, making Amethyst gasp for air. "You don't have friends. No one wants to spend their time with an idiotic," he pressed harder, "worthless," harder, "fat, ugly piece of waste."

"Dad," she gasped out, tears leaking out of her eyes. "Dad, please."

He finally stepped off her chest moments before she was sure she would pass out, glaring at the girl for an instant before grabbing her by her sweatshirt and hauling him up to his eye level. "If you slip up one more time, you will be sorry." He dropped her back to the ground and walked into the kitchen, leaving his daughter sobbing on the ground.

Amethyst didn't dare staying there for long, dragging herself off the ground despite every muscle in her body crying out. She climbed up the stairs using her arms and legs, finally collapsing back to the floor in her bedroom.

She laid there and cried for an unknown amount of time, wondering how her life had ended up such a mess. The door to her room opened and an ice pack was tossed at the girl, who cried out when it landed on her freshly bruised stomach. Amethyst knew the ice packs were never acts of kindness, instead given to her to try and make the bruises less visible.

Pressing the pack to her eye, she finally let her mind go dark, falling comatose despite the sunlight still shining in through her window.

Amethyst woke up when it was dark outside, almost screaming at the pain that seemed to envelope her body. She pulled herself onto her bed and under the covers, hoping at least stopping her shivering would lessen the ache. Her ice pack had become water so she left it on the floor, finding herself crying again as she forced herself back to sleep.

The house was silent when she woke up. She assumed her parents were out shopping or eating or doing whatever they always did without her, so she decided a bath was in order. Amethyst found her breathing to still be slightly uneven as she dragged her body out of the room and to the bathroom, turning on the hottest water she could get.

The girl cried out when she sank into the scalding water, but instantly found her muscles unwinding. Amethyst washed her body slowly and purposefully, aggravating the injuries as little as possible.

When the water got cold she finally drained the tub, climbing out and wrapping the largest towel they owned around herself. She shivered her way back into her bedroom, grabbing a long sleeve shirt to wear under her sweatshirt and pulling her sweatpants back on. Amethyst climbed back into bed with plans to sleep for another few hours, happy at the thought of being in dreamland instead of the real world.

However, even dreams didn't prove to be an escape for her that day. Instead her sleep was plagued by more beatings and odd honey eyes staring her down from every direction.

She awoke for a third time to her door swinging open. "I thought I told you not to bother the Cullen children."

"I don't," Amethyst said with a groan, trying to pull herself up.

"Then why is one of them on the phone for you?"

Fear washed over her again when she remembered the treatment she had received the last time her mother had confronted her about the Cullens. "That must be Alice. She offered to help me review for my physics final. I didn't want to disappoint you guys by bringing home a low grade."

"You're already a disappointment," Carla hissed, shoving the phone into her daughter's hand. Amethyst waited until her mother had slammed her door before actually picking up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Are you alright?"

Amethyst looked down at her body, picturing the bruises covering most of her skin. "Yeah, why?"

"You never called back when you said you would last night."

She sighed, pulling the covers back up to her chin to keep the warmth around her frame. "Sorry, Tyler sprained his ankle and I was a little focused on that."

"Too focused for one call?"

"I said I was sorry already." The girl felt the exhaustion creep back in, fighting to keep herself awake.

Alice sighed. "I know you did. I just got concerned. Will you come over today?"

"No, not today."

"Tomorrow then."

Amethyst tried not to scream. "I don't know, Alice, I'm not exactly in great shape right now."

"Why not?" The reply was slightly hesitant.

"I don't know, I'm exhausted and cold and think I'm sick and my body aches. Please don't make me leave my house."

The silence stretched between the two. "Please, Amethyst. It's important to me that you come over tomorrow. You should really get out of your house."

"What do you know that I don't?" she asked, too tired to really care.

"I'll be by to pick you up around two. Please, be awake. It doesn't matter what you wear or anything like that."

"My mom won't be happy."

"Why not?"

The girl barely heard Alice's last response before she slipped back asleep, unable to force herself to function any longer.

Amethyst slept through the entire day, noticing the sun was already high in the sky when she finally managed to shed her exhaustion. She stood up and immediately went to the shower, stretching out her muscles despite the pain. The injuries only got worse the longer she let them set.

She looked into the mirror when she climbed out, unhappy to see that her left eye was black so soon after the other one had healed. Amethyst turned away from the mirror, not wanting to see the rest of her body.

The pain relief cream, probably one of her smartest purchases ever, was waiting for her on her nightstand. The girl liberally applied it to her skin and stood in front of her closet, trying not to put too much pressure on her re-injured knee. Amethyst knew she wanted to wear something that looked nice enough for her to be around the Cullen's, but wouldn't press too much on her skin or expose any bruises. She finally settled on a green tank top under her black cardigan with black leggings.

Amethyst couldn't put on her watch, as there was a bruise on her wrist where she normally kept it, but she did notice it was almost 1 p.m. The girl groaned mentally but dragged her ottoman over to her mirror, sitting down to do her makeup.

She noticed her concealer was running low, a fact that caused her concern. Amethyst made a mental note to get more as soon as possible as she slowly covered her face. The bruises on both cheeks were turning green, but her eye was almost pitch black. She took extra time to contour her face, trying to hide the swelling as well as she could.

Once the scars and bruises were finally hidden, she checked her watch again. Exhaustion was creeping back in to her bones after doing her makeup for half an hour, a sign the girl did not find encouraging. The phone ringing made her jump when she looked up to see the wireless handset was still in her bed.

Amethyst forced herself over to pick it up. "Hello, Ashford residence."

"I'll be there soon."

She sighed. "Alice, I really don't want to come over."

"But my family really wants to see you."

"Can we not do this next weekend or something?"

"I already gave you a pass for Saturday, you're not getting out of today too."

"I'm not trying to get out of anything." Amethyst rubbed at her forehead, feeling a headache coming on suddenly. "I'm really just not feeling good."

Alice sighed. "Please. Amethyst. I know you aren't feeling great and you said something about your mother not wanting you to come over, but it would mean a lot to us to be able to have a friend over while we're getting ready for the holiday. I'm sure you know people don't come to our house."

"Then why me? I've gotten into a fight with at least three of you, so I would think that would put me lower on the list of people you guys want over."

"Because you're fantastic." Amethyst was shocked by Alice's statement. She didn't receive compliments very often, and getting one from a Cullen was close to winning the lottery. "We've spent a few years with most of the people in Forks and none of them have struck us as being as fiery and wonderful and smart and argumentative as you are. We all enjoy having you around and would love your company."

Amethyst had an internal battle for a few moments before sighing in defeat. "Alright, I'll see you soon. I live on Merchant's Road."

Alice squealed in excitement, making the brunette's lips twitch up slightly. "No problem. I'll be there in a snap." They disconnected the line and Amethyst felt apprehension sneak back in at the thought of telling her parents.

She walked downstairs with her phone still in hand, placing it back in the charging cradle. Following the sound of the television, Amethyst spotted her father sitting in the living room.

"Hey, Dad?" Dave didn't respond, but she kept going. "Because exams are soon, a friend of mine has offered to give me some help with physics to catch up." Her mother had seemed to buy the lie last night, so she assumed she could use it again. "Alice Cullen is coming to get me in a few minutes."

"I don't care. Figure that out with your mother later."

Amethyst assumed that was as close as she was going to come to permission, so she backed out of the living room before immediately going outside. She wasn't expecting the pouring rain and was grateful she had thought to grab her heaviest rain jacket before stepping outside.

The silver Volvo pulled up moments later and Amethyst climbed in, relieved when she saw a towel tossed over the passenger seat.

"Hi."

Amethyst paused. "I thought Alice said she was coming."

"I'm here, too." Alice leaned forward between Edward and the brunette, smiling at her. "Edward's just protective and doesn't let me drive his car."

"Because you don't take care of it. It isn't a sports car that can keep up with all your recklessness, and it is currently pouring rain," he commented, pulling out of Amethyst's driveway. His eyes danced over to the girl who had fallen silent, her arms wrapped around her torso lightly. "How're you feeling?"

"Alright," she commented, not making eye contact. "Could we turn the heat up?'

"Sorry, it's all the way up."

Amethyst grew embarrassed, wanting to shrink in her seat but her muscles preventing the motion. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He merged on to the interstate before glancing over again. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Just peachy," she murmured, watching the rain pound down on the car as they settled in to silence.


	13. Dare You To Move To Take The Mug

Amethyst was just was amazed the second time they pulled up to the Cullen's home. Even with the rain pouring down around them, she could see the beauty of the house and knew the inside was even better.

Edward pulled the Volvo into the garage this time and the brunette's jaw dropped when she saw the collection hiding inside.

"Why do you guys own an Aston Martin, a BMW, a Mercedes and a Jeep?"

Alice climbed out of the back seat with a giggle. "Everyone has a different taste in cars, and so we pick ones that suit our purpose. For example, we normally take the Jeep to go hiking or camping, but it's technically Emmett's because he'll go explore the woods more than the rest of us."

Amethyst climbed out and trailed behind the other two, still staring at the cars in awe.

The rest of the Cullen family was chatting in the living room, and the brunette found herself having to take a moment as she took in their beauty. They all turned to her, Esme, Dr. Cullen and Emmett smiling kindly while Jasper and Rosalie seemed to remain indifferent.

"It's so good to see you again, dear." Esme walked over and grabbed one of Amethyst's gloved hands, smiling down at the girl.

Amethyst knew that grin was infectious, feeling her own lips begin to quirk up. "It's wonderful to see you as well. Thank you for having me over."

"You're welcome anytime." Dr. Cullen walked up and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist. "Our children seem to be very fond of you."

A blush rose up in her cheeks as her smiled widened toward the two, noticing out of the corner of her eye as Jasper walked out of the room.

"Let me take your coat," Edward said, drawing her attention to the boy still by her side.

She shrugged out of the coat which had thankfully dried during their drive, sticking her gloves in the pocket before muttering her thanks to him. She wrapped her cardigan around her body tighter the moment the heavy jacket was gone, careful not to jostle her injured wrist too much.

The silence that settled around the group seemed awkward, but it allowed the girl to hear soft padding behind her back. Jasper came back into the room carrying a mug of what smelled like hot chocolate.

"Here," he said softly, holding it out to the girl.

She immediately shook her head. "It's alright, thank you, I really don't need anything." Amethyst felt embarrassed at the thought of being the only one with a drink build up inside of her.

Jasper smirked softly. "Afraid I poisoned it?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking." She snorted.

He raised the mug to his lips and took a sip, making the brunette raise an eyebrow. "Convinced now?" He offered the mug back to her.

Amethyst was unsure why it seemed to be so sensual to take the mug from him and actually drink from it, but she reached out to take it anyway. She noted Jasper carefully avoided her hands as they exchanged it but didn't allow herself to dwell on it. "Thank you," she said softly, taking her own sip.

She turned back to the rest of his family to see Rosalie staring at the two of them, while the others had started a new conversation. The brunette held the amber gaze, wishing she could go inside and pick at the girl's brain before the blonde finally broke eye contact to look at Alice.

The short girl clapped her hands together. "So, we're going to have three teams. Esme, Carlisle and Amethyst will decorate the tree, Edward, Rosalie and I are going to take care of the other parts of the house. Emmett, you get to be a pack mule."

"You know that technically doesn't make me a team." The largest of the group raised an eyebrow at the smallest, who was apparently not going to back down.

"Are you not man enough to be able to handle a few Christmas decorations on your own?"

That line seemed to get him as Emmett instantly flexed, raising an eyebrow at Alice. "Do these muscles not look man enough for you?"

However, a few Christmas decorations was a gross understatement. Amethyst settled into the couch while all the boys and Rosalie went upstairs to grab decorations, watching with a progressively more bemused expression as a small mountain of boxes formed in the living room.

Esme and Alice talked through the plans as Amethyst slowly sipped on her hot chocolate, warming up pleasantly. After what must have been ten trips for each of them, the group placed the last of their boxes on the pile.

"Where does all of that go?" Amethyst wondered out loud, turning in surprise when Alice scoffed.

"We do Christmas right here. There's three artificial trees, ornaments for each, garland for each staircase, window decorations, lights and cute little things for window sills and table tops."

The brunette felt her lips twitch up as her eyebrows floated up her forward. "A little bit obsessed, are we?"

Alice shrugged. "It's nice to have a holiday that brings everyone together. After all, how many times do you get to celebrate Christmas?"

"Thanksgiving wasn't enough for you?" Amethyst questioned with a small smile, following the two women over to the boxes.

"Christmas is just better in general," Emmett said, walking around to put his hands on one of the tree boxes. "Alright, Ashford, this goes over by the spiral staircase. You want to help me put it together?"

"Weren't Carlisle and Esme supposed to work with me on the tree?"

"Just to decorate it. Come on now, a little manual labor never hurt anyone."

Amethyst felt a bit apprehensive at the strain it would put on her body. "You all keep saying that. I don't believe any of you actually mean it."

"Hush your mouth and move your ass."

"Emmett," Esme called over in a warning tone.

The brunette giggled when the muscular man immediately shrank back a slight bit. "Sorry, Mom."

She walked over to the tree box, wincing a bit as she rolled her wrist in an attempt to prepare it for the strain of lifting the box. However, she was surprised by how light it seemed as they worked their way over to the space between the staircase and the window.

Amethyst raised an eyebrow when they put it down on the ground. "Did you even actually need help?"

"Of course, you helped keep me balanced."

She rolled her eyes, wondering if that was even slightly true. However, the Cullens didn't normally push her when she lied to them, so she instead opened the box.

Alice brought over a tree skirt for them which Amethyst spread over the base. Her job then became to grab branches for Emmett to hook into the tree, so she worked with her right hand to avoid pain as much as possible.

He stuck the final piece on the top of the tree just before Alice walked back over, smiling at the decoration the two had assembled. "Great, guys. Amethyst, will you go ahead and fluff out the branches? Just pull them apart like this," she demonstrated and the taller girl nodded. "Emmett, I need your help."

The brunette got to work, humming quietly to herself. She found herself grateful for the long sleeves as the fake pine needles stabbed at her arms when she reached to fluff the internal branches on the tree. Finally finished, Amethyst stepped away with a small, proud smile and turned to see what she was supposed to do next.

The girl's jaw dropped when she saw there was already another tree put together perfectly by the door with Carlisle and Esme halfway through decorating while garland wound up the spiral staircase and framing the mantle. The blankets and pillows on the furniture had already been switched for seasonally colored ones and the table in the middle had a runner and small trinkets on it.

"All I did was fluff some branches," Amethyst muttered, looking over to see half the boxes were already empty.

"You were working on the biggest tree," Alice explained as she walked back in from the kitchen. "You fluffed a lot of branches."

Amethyst felt a familiar tug on her lips as she followed the small girl back over to the pile of boxes. Alice helped her pick out the ornament boxes that went with the larger tree, instructing Emmett to help move them.

Emmett carried two boxes while Amethyst balanced one on her hip, piling them up beside the couch closest to the tree. The girl grabbed her mug and cradled it as she waited for Esme and Carlisle to finish decorating the tree by the door. She wondered for a few moments why she was warm enough in the house without a coat, but pushed it aside to take a swig of her drink. A frown formed when she pulled it away from her mouth, realizing there wasn't actually any liquid left.

Hearing a laugh, the girl glanced over to see Emmett cracking up. "Your expression was pretty great there," he said, walking over and grabbing the mug from her. "More?"

"If it's not too much of a bother," she said, a familiar feeling of awkwardness taking the girl. However, as quickly as it started, the emotion went away. Her breath came a little easier as peace enveloped her, finally allowing her muscles to relax as the pain seemed to drift away. She was careful not to aggravate any of her injuries as she opened the boxes of ornaments, rather enjoying the feeling of normality.

The Cullen parents joined her a quarter of the mug of hot chocolate later, telling Amethyst to keep feeding them ornaments from her spot on the couch instead of making her move. She studied each ornament as she pulled them from the box, noticing a lot of them were rather generic. Esme did tell her stories about some of them, explaining how certain ornaments had been in the family for more than a hundred years. Amethyst was almost scared to handle those, but the other two didn't seem to mind how delicate they were as the tree slowly filled.

About halfway through the second box, a thought occurred to the brunette. "Dr. Cullen?"

"Please, dear, just Carlisle," he responded from behind the tree, making a smile pull at her lips.

"Alright, Carlisle. I have a favor to ask of you."

He walked back around, smiling at the girl. "Of course. What can I do?"

"I have a job interview at the library."

Esme's face lit up, turning to the girl. "That's so wonderful, dear. Congratulations."

Amethyst's smile grew as she picked at her leggings. The Cullens really knew how to make people feel special. "The only issue is I need a local reference. All of mine came from New York, and the lady who interviewed me wants to speak with someone local to make sure I've been adjusting well and all that good stuff."

A snort came from over her shoulder, and she turned to see Emmett standing behind the couch. She raised an eyebrow which he raised in return.

"Would that happen to be Chloe Harman? Very sweet girl." Carlisle grabbed another ornament from Amethyst, bringing her attention back forward. "Would you like me to give her a call?"

"If you wouldn't mind. I mean I could always ask one of my teachers but your name is just such a huge one in the community and I thought it would be nice." She trailed off, handing another ornament to Esme who smiled at her encouragingly.

"That's absolutely no bother. I'll give her a call tomorrow." The blonde smiled at the girl as he walked to grab another ornament. "It sounds like a wonderful opportunity."

Amethyst smiled up at the man before he went back over to the tree. She felt Emmett lean on the couch beside her and turned to make eye contact.

"You've been adjusting well?" His voice was teasing despite the slightly serious comment.

She rolled her eyes. "I have been adjusting well, all things considered. It's just the people around me who aren't."

He laughed before walking away, leaving Amethyst shaking her head at him. Her group worked steadily through the last of the ornaments, the girl feeling herself grow exhausted when they hung the last ones up, despite not having actually been up and working herself.

The other two said they were going to go upstairs for some reason or another and the brunette thanked them for their help with they immediately returned. She looked around and realized she was alone in the room.

Amethyst didn't want to be nosy, but she stood up to walk around the empty floor anyway, unable to sit any longer. She noticed a door she had missed before that was pulled closed to the right of the tree, but knew better than to go look inside. She instead felt herself drawn to the grand piano on a raised area of the room, her feet wandering toward it.

The cover was open on the keys and she gently dragged her fingers over them, careful not to actually play anything. Amethyst had always wished she had musical talent, but after being turned down by the choir before even getting to middle school she had turned her focus on math and science, which eventually took her to Stuyvesant. As they were required to still take one liberal arts class a year, she had discovered her love of photography quite accidentally in her elective and kept going with it, not daring to attempt anything musical.

"Do you play?"

Amethyst jumped slightly, turning to see Edward leaning against the wall by the entrance. She shook her head and backed away from the instrument immediately. "No, I don't have an ounce of musicality in my body."

"I doubt that," he said, walking around her to sit down on the bench. He patted the spot next to him which she hesitantly took. "Hard work always triumphs natural talent."

"Tell that to my fifth grade choir teacher," she murmured, picking at the end of her sweater sleeve.

Edward's mouth pulled into a smile as he seemed to fight back a laugh, and seeing his expression Amethyst let out a small laugh herself. "That's a bit rough for fifth grade, don't you think?"

She shrugged slightly, resting her hands on the keys. Edward reached over corrected her hands, putting them so they were centered around one of the keys.

"The white key with the two black keys to the right is C, which is the middle of the two clefs."

"You've already lost me," she admitted.

He laughed. "Don't worry about it. Just watch." Edward's long fingers glanced over the keys, moving up three before he tucked his thumb and going up five more. "That's a scale."

"What's the thingy you did with your thumb?"

"A scale is eight notes and because we only have five fingers, you have to have some way to adjust your hand over."

Amethyst shook her head slightly, but attempted to copy his movements with her right hand. After a few more times watching him, she finally managed to play the entire scale.

Edward nodded approvingly. "Now, it's basically the same thing with your left hand, just in reverse."

"Because it wasn't difficult enough forward," she murmured, watching his example again. She placed her own hand on the keys and worked her way down.

"No, you'll want to start here-" Edward pulled back in shock when the girl cringed. He had grabbed her wrist to adjust her hand that time, putting pressure on her still relatively fresh bruise. "What did I do? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, making a fist a few times. "I guess my wrist just freaked out for a moment there."

He frowned. "Do you want Carlisle to look at it?"

"Nope, if it happens again I'll have my mom look at it. Now, you said I was starting at the wrong spot. Is that one supposed to start at the C as well?" Amethyst quickly tried to turn the attention back to the situation, not wanting to discuss her injury any further.

"Yes, your thumb rests there."

Edward was careful not to touch her again as they sat there, a fact that relieved the girl greatly. Once close call was enough for her in a day.

The rest of the Cullen family trickled downstairs slowly as the two sat at the piano, playing scales up and down the piano, Amethyst finally getting a feel for it after almost half an hour.

"I thought you said you didn't have any musical talent," Edward said, pulling the cover over the keys.

She laughed slightly. "I don't. I guess everything just depends on the teacher." The girl stifled a yawn behind her hand, curious about the time.

"Should we be taking you home soon?" Alice chimed in from her spot on the couch.

"I suppose." Amethyst felt a slight frown tugging on her face. "Would anyone happen to have the time?"

Carlisle glanced at his watch. "It's almost eight."

The brunette wondered why she was so tired, having slept most of the previous day away. But she said her good nights, grabbed her jacket and made her way out of the house with Edward and Alice.

They climbed in to the Volvo, and Amethyst could feel herself falling asleep as they drove through the rain that had calmed down significantly.

"We're here," Edward said, pulling into her driveway. The girl glared at it, wishing she could stay with a family like the Cullens instead. She knew what could be waiting for her behind that door and didn't really want to face it.

She turned to Edward and Alice anyway. "Thank you guys, for the rides and a really nice day. I'm sorry I wasn't much help."

"You were perfect," Alice said, giving the girl a huge grin. "It can get stuffy on weekends, and having someone over always breaks up the monotony."

"I suppose so," she said, zipping up her jacket. She took a deep breath before opening the car door. "Thank you guys again."

The Volvo idled in the driveway until the girl was inside her dark home and she watched through the front window as it pulled away. Amethyst sighed heavily and went upstairs, happy she couldn't hear any other movements in the house.

Her muscles were aching horribly when she reached the top, so she went immediately to the bathroom and ran another hot bath for herself.

As she allowed herself to relax, Amethyst felt her mind wondering through the day. It was probably one of her favorites since moving to Forks, barring the day she had spent with Tyler and Angela in Port Angeles. Her mind flickered to her friends, not having heard from them all weekend, but she found herself coming back to one thought.

The way Jasper had looked at her when she took her hot chocolate from him was so intense. She wondered if that was just his nature, as he seemed to express emotions much more powerfully than the people around him. She had shared a drink with him, something she hadn't ever done with anyone before.

Amethyst found herself smiling at the water, sinking in deeper until it covered her neck. She used her soap to clean off her makeup before climbing out when the temperature had dropped, putting on her warmest pajamas.

She didn't stop shivering from the time she got out of the water until she was finally enveloped in her comforters, even those taking some time for her body heat to spread through them. Her gut instant was that she was dealing with much more than a cold, but she wasn't about to bother her parents with taking her to the doctor, nor would she embarrass her mother by going to the hospital with what was probably just her body not adjusting well.

Amethyst was almost asleep when she heard keys in the door. The brunette held her breath when her parents came inside and up the stairs, but neither set of footsteps stopped at her door. She listened as the shower turned on twice before their bedroom door shut for one final time.

The world didn't seem real when she was at the Cullen's house. It was as if she had stepped into a fantasy land, where everything was magical and the piano played softly in the background. It rested in stark contrast to her home, where coldness blanketed the building and the people. Amethyst knew the thought was ridiculous, but she couldn't help wishing she was one of the Cullens just before sleep finally washed over to her, taking her to a land where anything was possible.


	14. Dare You To Move In To A Relationship

Amethyst had driven to Tyler to school throughout the week, helping him out whenever she had the chance to escape from class in time. He admitted to her he would have to use his crutches for two weeks and wouldn't be allowed to play any sports until after the break, the second fact disappointing him significantly more than the first.

He always seemed to have plenty of help, and the grin he would have on his face when the cute girl from his trigonometry class helped him to government always made Amethyst giggle. Tyler, Angela and the girl had moved back to the table with Ben, Eric and Mike, who didn't seem to care about the drama surrounding her. The six had fun during lunch, Tyler's arm tossed around the back of her chair almost constantly while Angela would glance to her with pity in her eyes from time to time.

Amethyst walked into her house on Wednesday, flipping through the mail. Her father had made plans to watch some sporting event with people he knew and her mother was at the hospital, so she felt safe in her home for the first time that week. She felt a grin stretch across her face when she pulled a card out from the bills, checking the return address just to confirm what she already knew.

The girl ran over to the phone, her knee no longer bothering her when she put pressure on it. Ignoring the fact the call was long distance, she typed in the New York phone number, picking at the envelope as it rang.

"Hello, Ashford residence. How may I help you?"

"Grandma! It's Amethyst."

"Amy, my dear, I'm so happy to hear from you!"

Amethyst wouldn't be surprised if her face split open as she walked into the living room and curled up on her favorite chair, pulling both blankets from the couch over her body. "I'm happy to be talking to you. Is Grandpa there?"

"He's due home from work any minute, so I'll be sure to pass you along the instant he walks in the door. Now, tell me about my girl. How're you? We do miss you terribly."

"I miss you too, Grandma. It's weird not being able to work with Grandpa. Dinner also isn't nearly as good without your cooking."

A laugh came through her phone. "You don't need to butter me up, Amy. We've already sent your money for the fortnight."

"I know, the card came in today. I wanted to thank you because I haven't properly done so since the move."

"You know you don't have to, my love. Did you like the card?"

"I haven't opened it," Amethyst said, grinning when her grandmother told her to do so that instant.

A hundred dollar bill fell into her lap when she ripped open the envelope, surprising the girl. "Grandma, you guys shouldn't be giving me this much."

"Nonsense, it's almost Christmas and you need money to buy presents for all you friends out there. Read your card."

"Oldies who dream of becoming young again don't have awesome grandkids like you. Oh Grandma, you aren't old."

"You know better than to lie to me. Keep reading."

"Having you as part of our lives makes getting old easier because you keep us young." She looked to the part her grandmother had written in using her beautiful handwriting. "We're always so hip because of you, now you have to play catch up to us since we get everything first in the city. All the love in the world, Grandma and Grandpa. It's perfect."

"I'm glad you enjoy it. Oh, your grandfather just walked in, one second."

Amethyst stayed on the phone with her grandparents for another half an hour, a grin permanently fixed to her face throughout the conversation. The Ashfords had moved to New York without a cent to their name so her grandfather could build his legal career. Coming from a small town in Georgia, they had taken a while to adjust, but they told Amethyst they fell in love with the city life. As they lived just one subway stop down from her, the girl spent a lot of time with them growing up which led to her working with her grandfather at the firm.

"I almost forgot to tell you guys that I had a job interview at the library here."

"We know. Chloe Harman called here and wanted to know all about you."

A blush creeped up her cheeks. "Sorry, Grandpa. I should have warned you."

His chuckle coming through the phone made her crave being in the city with them. "No harm, my dear. It was exciting to hear about the opportunity for you."

"I'm excited. I should be hearing back soon and will let you guys know."

"We'll be waiting for the call. Now, it's dinner time and you know how your grandfather is when food is late getting on the table." Amethyst smiled as her grandma picked fun at her husband. "We love you very much, Amy."

"I love you both to the moon and back. Thank you again for the card and the generosity."

When they hung up, Amethyst sat in her glow of happiness as long as she could. The phone rang again but didn't break her feeling, a smile staying on her face when she answered it.

"Hello, Ashford residence."

"Hi, am I speaking with Amethyst?"

"Yes ma'am, you are."

"Great, it's Chloe Harman from the library."

If it was possible, her smile grew wider. "Yes ma'am, it's great to hear from you."

"I must say, you simply have people raving about you. Dr. Cullen was an excellent reference."

"He's a great man and I'm lucky to have a connection to him."

"Indeed. Now, I do have to ask you about your preference for shifts."

The excitement bubble in her chest popped, creating a thousand smaller ones. "Does this mean I have the job?"

"Absolutely, I wouldn't turn someone down who was sold to me by every single reference." The laugh that came through the phone made Amethyst laugh as well. "Now, would you prefer to work two eight hour days on the weekends and a two hour shift after school two days a week? Or would you rather work five hours four days a week?"

"I would love the weekend shift." An excuse to stay out of her house every day would be her choice every single time.

"Great, I was hoping you would pick that one. After school tomorrow, why don't you go ahead and come over and fill out some paperwork and then we'll finalize everything. Sound good?"

Amethyst was a puddle of joy. "Absolutely. Thank you again for the opportunity."

"We're looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. Take care."

She jumped up and laughed when the phone disconnected, spinning in circles happily. She quickly put her phone back in the cradle and pulled her jacket back on, running out the door and straight to the Crowley house.

Amethyst was out of breath and sore from the strain on her injured muscles when she knocked on the door, a fact that irked her slightly but she shoved aside in her happiness.

"Amethyst, dear, how are you?"

"Great, thank you so much Mrs. Crowley. May I speak with Tyler?"

The woman was smiling when she stepped out of the way. "Of course. He's over in the living room."

"Thank you," she said, stepping inside and swiftly pulling off her boots. She walked around the corner and grinned at her friend who was staring blankly at the television.

Tyler turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Did you just win the lottery or something?"

Amethyst giggled and jumped at the boy, hugging him from the side as he sat with his leg stuck out on to the table. She squeezed her arms around him, ignoring the complaints her muscles were sending.

He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her as well, pulling her to his side more comfortably. "Not that this isn't nice, but is there actually a reason for it?"

"I got the job." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes that she wasn't going to allow to fall, not wanting to expose her black eye. "I got a job and got to talk to my grandparents and life is pretty damn wonderful."

Tyler squeezed her again in happiness, turning back to the television. "I told you there wasn't anything to worry about. Now hush your face and watch the game."

Amethyst rolled her eyes with a smile still on her face as they watched silently, feeling grateful for his body heat as it managed to calm her shivering.

Once the game was almost over, the brunette pulled away with a sigh. "I should really go home. My dad will probably be home soon."

"It's still early. Do you want to stay for dinner?"

"No, I don't want to bother your parents." She pressed a kiss to his cheek and stood up, careful not to jostle the boy. "I'll see you tomorrow morning. I have to go to the library to finalize everything after school if you don't mind riding along."

"Of course not. See you tomorrow morning."

The girl let herself out, calling out a goodbye to Mrs. Crowley. She worked her way back to her house at a much slower pace, a grin still fixed on her face.

Amethyst worked on her review sheets for almost two hours at her house, quickly packing up when she heard her father get home. She laid under the covers silently, not wanting to draw attention from her father who was probably drunk. Her bubble of happiness hadn't escaped her body yet, but she didn't want to press her luck.

The girl woke up the next morning, her mood not diminished in the slightest by a rocky sleep. She showered before reaching in to pull her favorite outfit out of the closet.

Her high-waist dark wash jeans covered her navel, where the bottom of her shirt barely brushed it. The shirt was a three-quarter sleeve white piece, making it comfortable, fashionable and just sexy enough, despite the marks the girl knew it was hiding. She pulled out her cabernet cardigan, not wanting to take a chance with her bruises that had almost faded. Amethyst was also excited to pull out her heeled ankle boots, grateful for finally being able to wear heeled shoes confidently again.

The girl climbed out of her car when she reached Tyler's house, zipping up her jacket to protect her shivering body from the cold. She held his crutches as the boy climbed into her car before going back around to actually drive them to school.

She grabbed Tyler's thermos from the cup holder when she parked, taking the time to grab a drink before going back out into the cold. Amethyst pulled it away from her mouth in surprise, turning to see the boy grinning at her.

"Hot chocolate?"

He shrugged. "You seemed to be in such a good mood yesterday I figured you deserved a break from tea. It's just for one day, though."

"You realize I'm going to go back to hating tea tomorrow. I was so close to adjusting to it."

"Don't lie to yourself," he snorted, opening the car door.

Amethyst helped Tyler straight to his first class before making her way to her locker, smiling when she spotted Angela leaning against it.

"Hey guess what?"

"Hey what?" Angela moved out of the way for the brunette.

Amethyst grinned at her friend, cracking her locker open. "I got the job."

Her friend reached over to wrap her long arms around her, drawing a laugh out of Amethyst. "Congratulations! I knew you were really hoping for it to work out."

"I was," the girl said with a smile as she pulled away. "And now, we can work on getting you a job there, too."

"You know I would love a job, but we can't afford a car for me right now so I don't have any way of getting there."

"That's why you need to apply at the library. I'll be your ride." Amethyst was digging in her locker so she didn't immediately realize when her friend didn't reply. "Angela?"

A throat clearing behind them made Amethyst turn instantly, straightening up. Jasper was standing behind them with a small smirk.

"Sorry to interrupt. I was wondering if I could speak with Amethyst."

Angela nodded silently and walked away, still staring at Jasper. She only broke her gaze to look over at her friend, giggling into her hand before walking away to their class.

Amethyst sighed and pushed her locker closed. "You broke one of the smartest people I know."

"I am sorry," he said, tilting his head slightly toward her.

"You're not," she said with a laugh, gesturing with her head toward her class. "Let's walk and talk."

Jasper fell into step next to her instantly. "Alice sent me on a mission."

"That sounds dangerous."

"It can be." His smirk grew. "She wanted to invite you to go Christmas shopping with us. Alice insists on going out to Seattle which is a four hour drive from here and she mentioned something about you not being able to shop anywhere other than a city."

Amethyst laughed softly. "She's spot on there, but I don't believe I have time to go."

"You don't even know when we were planning on going."

"No, but my new job involves working on the weekends and there's no way we're making an eight hour round trip on a school day."

"Maybe we were planning on going after school was already out for the semester," he countered.

The girl shook her head. The two really could not find common ground on almost anything, but she enjoyed the challenge it provided. "I thought Alice was the one who was better at making plans. She said you're the one who calms people down."

"I'm generally better at persuasion, a talent she felt would be helpful in this situation." His grin certainly was persuasive, Amethyst decided, cursing herself the instant she did. "Besides, you seemed to be in such a good mood that I had to take my opportunity to ruin it."

She laughed, leaning against the building for her class. "I have absolutely no idea how to read you, Jasper Hale. One day you act as if you hate me and the next you're downright flirty."

"Your moods tend to be rather infectious," he said, maintaining eye contact with her. "I'm not the only one who gets into argumentative moods."

Amethyst nodded, keeping her gaze locked on the golden one. "Well, I'll have to figure out the logistics of my job, but you can give Alice an indefinite yes."

"You can tell her yourself, you'll see her before I will."

The girl felt her jaw drop slightly. "So she literally just sent you-"

"To charm you with my good looks," Jasper replied. Amethyst finally broke her gaze, rolling her eyes away from him. "Like I said, power of persuasion. You did say yes."

"Indefinitely," she reminded him, but his smirk didn't fade. "Go to your class, you ass."

Amethyst walked into her class with a smile still on her face, making Angela nudge her when she sat down.

"You are so in to him."

The smile immediately dropped. "Yeah, right."

"You are!"

"We've barely had three actual conversations. Most of those have ended in arguments anyway."

Angela smiled at the girl's defensive words. "Doesn't mean he isn't dreamy."

"Attractiveness should not be the only factor in a relationship," Amethyst said with a warning tone, pointing the end of her pencil at her friend. "Look past the end of your nose, Angela."

The girls giggled when Angela shoved the pencil away but quieted down when the bell rang.

When she walked in to physics, Amethyst raised an eyebrow. "Sending your brother to do your dirty work is considered manipulation."

"But it got you to say yes," Alice replied, a grin splitting her face.

"How do you know?"

"You wouldn't have come in and started with a comment about Jasper if you were going to say no to me."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "It's an indefinite yes. I have to figure out things with the library. They just told me I got the job last night."

"No problem. We'll work around your schedule."

Government was another debate day, a fact that excited Amethyst until she figured out they were debating the regulation of testing on animals. The girl had to admit she didn't know as much about the topic, hanging toward the back as her classmates went through the rhetorical debate stages.

Emmett looked at the girl when they packed up after the bell rang. "You seriously don't have an opinion about testing on animals?"

"It's not that I don't have an opinion, I just don't know the facts," she defended, slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a cripple to support."

Tyler pretended to look offended when the girl grabbed his book bag, but laughed when she ruffled his hair.

The drive to the library was short, and Amethyst asked him to come inside when she parked.

"Don't make me leave you in the car. Aren't there laws against that?"

"I'm fine. I'd only slow you down anyway."

"Please, Tyler. I don't want to leave you out here."

He sighed, gathering his crutches. "Alright, let's go."

When the two got inside, Amethyst walked over to the desk, knowing Tyler was following behind her. "Hi, Chloe."

"Amethyst, how great to see you!"

The two worked though all the paperwork, including Chloe patiently walking her through the tax forms. Amethyst would glance up every few minutes to see Tyler tapping at the fish tank, something that made her smile.

"And you, my dear, are good to go. I work weekends normally, as Thursdays and Fridays are my day off. But I'm off this Saturday, so I can't bring you in for training until Sunday."

The girl's mind went straight to Jasper's offer from that morning of going to Seattle on a weekend day. It seemed as if Alice had predicted another thing correctly with that uncanny skill of hers, but Amethyst pushed the thought aside as soon as it occurred to her.

"That's fine, Sunday will be great."

"Awesome!" Amethyst stood up and went over to help Tyler back to his feet before going to shake Chloe's hand.

The redhead smiled at the boy who was trying to find his balance on the crutches again. "Thank you for sharing your girlfriend with me for a few hours."

The two exchanged looks of horror.

"Oh, we're not-"

"We aren't a-"

"It's not like that." Amethyst said finally, turning back to Chloe.

The girl held her hands up in surrender. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overstep any bounds. I know better for next time. Thank you for coming in anyway."

When they were outside, Amethyst glanced at Tyler awkwardly. They worked back over to her car in silence, her allowing him to settle in before handing over his crutches.

She climbed in on the driver's side but didn't start her car, instead resting her hands on the steering wheel in silence.

"Can you believe she thought-"

"We were dating?" Tyler finished her sentence. "It was-"

"Weird." Amethyst chewed at her lip. "I've never had that happen before."

The boy didn't say anything, so the brunette shifted her eyes over to him. Tyler was looking at her with a contemplative look on his face but he snorted, making the girl raise an eyebrow.

"So the idea of dating me was bad enough you had to snort?"

"You're the one who jumped in the instant the lady said something. If anything, you should be grateful for someone to think you were worth my time."

Amethyst knew the comment was a joke, but she couldn't help the twinge of upset it caused in her stomach. Those words had been said to her by too many people who matted to her that, despite the fact he was joking, it hurt to hear them from Tyler. "Let's forget about it and go home."

Tyler stared at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you."

"No, you didn't. Just no one should ever imply another person isn't worth their time." He was the second person she had brought the issue up to while in Forks, a fact she found slightly surprising.

"It was a joke," he said. "I didn't mean for you to take it so seriously."

"It's just one of those things, you know. Like some people don't like hearing cursing, I don't like hearing people be told they aren't worth someone's time."

The two were quiet as Amethyst drove them back toward their homes, her full powered heaters the only sound filling the car. She pulled in to Tyler's driveway and climbed out, going around to grab his crutches while he made his way out. She balanced him and closed the door before intending to walk back around to the driver's side.

"Don't walk away from me right now."

"You've walked away from me in much worse situations."

Tyler sighed, leaning forward on his crutches. "You know I didn't mean it."

"I do. I really do understand that." Amethyst went over and wrapped her arms around the boy's torso. "It's just kind of the lowest insult to me and it hurt to hear it coming from you."

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before tucking it under his chin. "I'll be more careful next time."

"Thank you," she said softly, only borrowing his body heat for a moment longer before pushing him toward the porch. Amethyst stood behind Tyler as he worked his way up, unsure if she could actually do anything if he fell, but knowing having someone there made it a bit easier.

When he reached the top, she turned to walk back to her car, only for Tyler to call out to her for a second time.

"I am a pretty good kisser if you ever decide you're going to lower your standards from Hale." He had a huge grin on his face. "Just in case you were curious."

Amethyst threw her hands up into the air. "Why does everyone assume I have a thing for Jasper Hale?"

"Just don't get caught in a love triangle for me, okay?"

"He and Alice aren't even together," the girl grumbled, pulling her coat tighter when a particularly cold breeze blew by.

"Just the fact you know that, as in actually have it confirmed from him, could be evidence enough."

Amethyst chose to flip her friend off instead of continuing the argument, seeking the temporary warmth of her car again.

However, the only thought she had when she sat in her own driveway after cutting the engine was if Jasper Hale was a good kisser.


	15. Dare You To Move To The City

Amethyst found herself back in the silver Volvo that Saturday, partially unsure of the course they had taken for her to be there. She had mentioned to Alice that her job wasn't starting until Sunday and the girl had immediately began to make plans. Despite the arguments that her parents might be home and want her to stay there or that the weather might keep them from going, the brunette was about an hour down the road toward Seattle. Her father had actually made the drive back to Seattle himself the night before and her mother was at work while the rain had stopped in the early hours of the morning, so both of the girl's argument would have fallen through either way.

Alice sat beside her in the backseat, happily chatting about all the places they needed to go and how they just had to go to the Space Needle while they were out there since Amethyst hadn't been before. Jasper and Edward occasionally sent back amused looks or comments from the front, but remained mostly silent.

The brunette pulled her knees up to her chest as they drove along, trying to keep her warmth near her body. She had pulled on a long sleeve stripped shirt, heavy vest and her thickest leggings, with boot socks and her favorite boots keeping her feet warm. Picking at her boots, Amethyst watched as the trees blurred along and they weaved through cars. She wondered if it was safe to be doing 90 m.p.h. on a wet road, but kept her thoughts to herself.

A cold hand laid down on top of hers, making the girl jump slightly. She followed the hand up to Jasper Hale's eyes, swallowing heavily at his intense, golden gaze.

"You are going to ruin every piece of clothing you own if you keep picking at them."

"I've managed to do well for myself so far," she countered, holding his look steadily.

He smirked slightly at her. "That in itself is a miracle." Jasper pulled his hand off hers and turned around, no longer looking when Amethyst stuck her tongue out at the back of his head.

Alice's giggle brought the electric blue eyes to the backseat. "So what are you excited for in Seattle?"

"I don't know. I don't really know what's out there."

"You don't know what's out there?"

"No," Amethyst said with a small laugh. "I never really imagined moving from coast to coast. Obviously I know about the Space Needle from the World Fair and the Starbucks empire. But what else would you really know about a city you've never been to?"

"I can tell you a lot about New York City," Alice challenged.

The brunette laughed. "Of course you can, that's because there are so many things there. But what could you tell me about, say, Houston. It's the fourth most populous city in the states but I bet you can't tell me five facts about it other than the fact NASA's Mission Control is there."

"The city is named after General Sam Houston and was actually made a city on June 5, 1837. Houston is home to a professional team for every sport except hockey, the official nickname is Space City and it is second only to New York City for Fortune 500 companies."

Amethyst pointed at Jasper through the seat. "He doesn't count."

Alice laughed put went on to tell the girl about everything there was to do in the city. She listened with a half smile on her face, forcing herself to still her hands from picking at her boots a few different times.

Edward pulled in to a parking spot at the mall, Amethyst looking in appreciation as they climbed out.

"Angela and Tyler tried to tell me Port Angeles was a city," she said, glancing over to Alice. "They obviously hadn't had the chance to get out this way much."

"And this is only a suburb of Seattle," the small girl reminded her, coming up to tuck her hand into the girl's elbow. "The actual city is about 20 minutes away from here."

Amethyst grew excited as they walked up to the mall, spotting the rest of the Cullen family talking near the entrance. They were laughing at something Emmett said, and the girl found herself appreciating their family relationship once more.

"Does everyone have their buddy?" Alice chimed as they walked up, smiling at her family. "We don't want anyone getting lost."

Everyone chuckled slightly as Emmett and Carlisle both threw an arm around their significant other. Amethyst's eyes danced over to them to see Edward and Jasper standing together. She opened her mouth to comment, but was cut off by a golden glare.

"Don't say it," Edward challenged, making the girl press her lips together to muffle a giggle. Alice pulled her away a moment later, leaving her waving at the rest of the family.

The two had more fun than the brunette thought they would. Alice had a great idea of what people wanted and how to negotiate for them, often surprising Amethyst when they would walk away with an item at about half the typical retail price.

"Okay, what is up with that?" She questioned, walking out of the third store where Alice had managed to talk the price down. "I mean I know you're gorgeous and all that good stuff, but how on earth can you convince people at a mall to lower the price? Haggling is difficult enough when you're in a market."

Alice shrugged and tossed the girl a glance over her shoulder. "Smiling and being able to poke holes in arguments while still seeming just as charming tend to help. Now, how many more presents do you need?"

Amethyst went through the bags in her mind. "We found stuff for Tyler, Angela, Edward, Emmett and one gift for Carlisle and Esme." The girl had wanted to get a present for each of the Cullens after they had been so kind to her. Despite Alice's constant reassurance that she really didn't have to buy anything for the family, she wanted to give them a little bit of the happiness that seemed to swell around her when she was with them. "That leaves you, Rosalie and Jasper. I suppose I should pick something up for Mike, Eric and Ben as well," she added.

"Nothing for your parents?"

She felt her throat dry out a bit but cleared it quickly. "I already have a present for them at home." The three hadn't actually exchanged presents in almost four years, Amethyst typically spending the holiday with her grandparents instead.

Alice didn't say anything when she nodded, leading the girl to Nordstrom. "They're having a sale on shoes today, buy one get one free. I'm size 5 and Rosalie is 7 ½."

Amethyst nodded at the instructions, heading back to the correct part of the store. The two pairs of shoes still ended up being more expensive than most of the things she had purchased, she was almost finished shopping and knew the girls would at least kind of enjoy the presents.

She found Alice waiting outside the store with three more bags on her arm. The brunette raised an eyebrow but wasn't offered an answer, instead finding herself trailing behind the girl to the dollar store. Amethyst picked out a few ridiculous gifts for the boys at her lunch table, leaving her with the task of finding a present for just one more person.

"What does Jasper want?" she questioned out loud, walking through the mall aimlessly with Alice. "What does Jasper even like?"

The short girl giggled. "Military, history, strategy, books, learning." She smiled. "He enjoys challenges."

Amethyst nodded as they continued on their path, trying to figure out how to manifest those aspects in to one item. She was pulled out of her thought when Alice giggled and nudged her, nodding toward a store front.

"You can always get that for him"

The girl felt her cheeks flame up instantly, looking away from the lingerie in the window to shove Alice. "Shut up. You're insane."

Her friend continued to giggle as they wandered up to the second floor, Amethyst still trying to figure out what to get him. She found herself wandering in to a bookstore, her feet taking her straight for the history section. The girl trailed her hand along the books, disappointed when none of them seemed quite right for Jasper.

She went over to Alice who was standing in the media section, glancing through the books. Amethyst followed her eyes, smiling slightly when she spotted _All The President's Men_ , one of her very favorite books. The one next to it caught her eye, making her lean down to pull it out.

"The New York Times Complete Civil War," she muttered, cracking open the book. She flipped through article after article of the coverage of the war, a smile growing on her face.

The girl looked up at Alice. "What do you think?"

A grin broke over the small girl's face. "I think it's literally perfect."

Amethyst had less than three dollars when she walked out of the store, but she couldn't have been happier with the loads on her arms.

"Can we go get a hot chocolate while we wait for everyone else to finish up? It's freezing in here."

"That Starbucks empire doesn't seem quite so ridiculous now, does it?" Alice joked, leading the girl back down to the main floor.

Edward and Jasper found them there about five minutes later, all of their bags spread on the floor behind their table as Alice and Amethyst giggled. The brunette was cradling her hot chocolate, her feet pulled up to her chair. She absentmindedly picked at the holder around her drink, pulling at the spot where the cardboard was glued together.

Amethyst grinned when Alice and Edward immediately began to bicker about the amount of bags the girl had and how there wouldn't be room for them in the Volvo. Her attention was pulled to Jasper as he walked over and took her hot chocolate away.

"Excuse you, I'm freezing and want that back."

"You're always freezing," he said, shaking his head slightly. "Besides, you almost destroyed the poor holder."

Her eyes traced to the split in the holder, sighing when she noticed she had almost pulled it apart. "May I please have it back? It's better than picking at my clothing anyway."

Jasper leaned in closer to the girl, his wonderful smell overwhelming her slightly. She was sure her heart was going to pound out of her chest when he smirked at her. "At least ruined clothing can lead to some fun."

Amethyst was breathless as he took a drink from her hot chocolate before putting it back in her hands and picking up the bags from behind her. Edward and Jasper left her alone with Alice, but the girl felt her eyes glued to them as they made their way out of the store with all of the items the two had purchased.

"No peeking!" Alice called before turning to Amethyst with a huge grin on her face. "Do you want to reconsider the lingerie?"

The brunette turned bright red, hiding her face in her knees. "No, it's not like that, Alice."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," her friend said, smirking over at her. "The world has a funny way of playing things out."

Amethyst frowned down at her cup. Almost a week ago, she had been absolutely convinced Jasper wanted nothing to do with her. However, after a shared drink and seeing him as relaxed as he was around his family, she had felt herself beginning to be drawn to him. There was something about the boy she knew she wouldn't ever understand, but she had literally argued with Angela that very same week that she didn't have feelings for him.

She could see a light imprint around the opening of her lid from where he had taken a drink. The girl wondered about the intimacy of sharing a drink with him again, this time literally placing her mouth over the same spot he had. She decided it was more important to finish the overpriced hot chocolate than it was to care what Alice thought, taking a sip from the same place Jasper had and ignoring the tingles it sent down her spine.

The Cullens began to join the girls, who eventually moved to a larger table. Emmett and Rosalie met them first, Alice teasing the boy about her having finished shopping before he did. Esme and Carlisle joined them before Edward and Jasper came back from the car, their hands empty. A lot of people stared over at the group, making Amethyst's hands return to their picking motion at her cup. She stilled them when she saw Jasper, but still thought about how the crowds must wonder why she was with such beautiful humans.

"So can we go see the Space Needle?" Alice's voice broke through her thoughts as Amethyst looked to to see her friend looking to her parents.

Carlisle smiled at her. "I would love to. Amethyst, do you have a time when you need to be home?"

The girl leaned over to glance at the man's watch, still not putting hers on her aching wrist. "It's only 4. We have plenty of time."

Alice squealed with delight, pulling the brunette out of her seat instantly and back toward the Volvo waiting for them in the parking lot. "Amethyst, the Needle is fantastic. There's a restaurant on top that spins and there's an observation deck and the elevator ride is exciting."

Amethyst smiled as the prattling continued through their drive into the city. She noticed Edward didn't seem fazed by the traffic around them, not slowing significantly despite the higher car count as they grew closer to Seattle.

They parked in a garage nearby the needle, the brunette staring up at it with excitement building in her stomach. Even though the attraction was shorter than some of the buildings around it, and she had been in taller in New York, she was excited to be able to see the city from the observation deck.

Carlisle pulled his Mercedes into the spot next to them and the group made their way over to the Needle.

The entire ground floor was a shopping center, and Amethyst wondered around it for a few minutes before meeting the Cullens back at the base of the elevator. Esme handed a ticket to her and the girl took it, glancing at it in surprise.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize it cost anything to go to the top." Guilt began to build up in her stomach.

Carlisle waved her away instantly. "Consider it a gift for coming with us today."

"I can pay you back once my job actually starts up."

"You can," he agreed. "But you won't. Just enjoy the view."

She smiled slightly but the ball of embarrassment stayed in her stomach. As the group climbed in to the elevator, the embarrassment slowly eased away, allowing her to breathe a little more easily.

The elevator traveled up to the top quickly, air blowing in from the cracks in the doors. The guide kept smiling and telling them that they were safe, and that she wouldn't be allowed in the elevator, much less with patrons, if they weren't.

When they reached the observation deck, Amethyst was instantly in awe. Seattle wasn't New York City, but that wasn't such a bad thing. The city featured a beautiful waterscape alongside the skyscrapers and the girl instantly wanted to get outside to see it closer.

The only negative the brunette could find to the situation was that the sun was hidden away behind the clouds, but that thought was easily brushed away when she stepped outside to the observation desk. Crowds seemed to mostly be staying inside, away from the breeze that came from being so high up, but Amethyst loved every second of it.

She walked around the deck slowly, trying to see every inch of the city. She supposed it wouldn't have been as bad had her parents actually moved them to Seattle, but she also knew her life would be very different if they had.

Amethyst caught up with Jasper about halfway through her circle. "It's so beautiful."

"The view isn't too bad." She looked up to see him looking toward her instead of the city, bringing a blush to her cheeks. He continued off on the path, Amethyst trailing behind slowly.

"Do you ever wish you lived in Seattle instead?"

"No," he said instantly. "Too many people."

"You have something against people?"

He sighed slightly. "They can become… overwhelming. That is, if there's never any reprieve."

She followed behind him silently, considering his words. After they completed their circle, she reached out and put her hand on his arm, noticing his muscles tensed immediately when she did so.

Amethyst quickly withdrew her hand. "I'm sorry." She looked back out to the city. "I was just wondering if that statistic included me."

"At times," Jasper said after a moment, moving to put his hands on the rail beside her. "Your emotions run wild despite you putting up a front and you often wear your anger on your sleeve as a result. You sometimes think without talking, you blush too easily and you really do need to stop picking at everything you can get your hands on."

The girl glanced down at her feet. "I didn't realize I was such a bother."

"You aren't." Amethyst looked up, but he wasn't looking at her that time. "I just said sometimes it's nice to get away from all that. Your happiness is also infectious, sarcasm often refreshing and the fact you take time on your appearance draws people to you." He smiled slightly and turned his gaze, the unsettling honey color not nearly as bothersome as it was when she first met them. "Plus, you do have a kind heart, no matter how often you pick a fight."

The girl tried to swallow her blush, keeping her eyes locked on to his. "They're normally not my fault."

Jasper snorted and shook his head a bit, a smirk playing over his lips. "Whatever you say." He turned around and opened the door for her, and Amethyst smiled when she stepped back inside from the chilly air.

The drive back to Forks went relatively quickly, which the girl supposed was partially due to the fact she was half asleep after the long day. Darkness welcomed them as they pulled back in to the Cullen garage.

Amethyst silently climbed out of the car and helped sort out what bags belonged to which person, surprised by the large amount packed in to both cars. When just her bags were left in the Volvo, she followed the family inside.

The girl walked over to the couch and sat down while everyone else went upstairs to presumably sort through their items. She curled up, pulling a red blanket over her legs as she stared in to the fire place.

Esme shook her gently awake what seemed like moments later. "I'm so sorry, Amethyst. We should have taken you home before we began to unpack. I'm afraid we didn't plan it out quite well enough."

"It's fine," the brunette said, stretching out with a yawn. "I'm actually sorry for falling asleep on your couch. I'm pretty sure that makes me the worst house guest ever."

"What is that?"

Amethyst looked over to see Alice staring at her with a look of horror on her face. She glanced down to see her clothes had ridden up enough to expose the greenish bruise on her midriff. Amethyst quickly pulled her shirt back down.

"I slipped while I was making hot chocolate at home a few days ago," she said, a nervous laugh bubbling through her lips. "My stomach unfortunately took the brunt of the impact against the island."

Alice's frown deepened. "It looks really painful. Should Carlisle look at it just to make sure you didn't do any real damage?"

"No, no, it's fine. My mom takes care of me when I have accidents like that. They aren't that uncommon." The lie hurt her almost as much as the truth, but Amethyst didn't want to drag the Cullens through her mess of a life.

The short girl nodded slowly, obviously not believing her. "Jasper said he'll drive you home if you're ready."

"I am," Amethyst said, standing quickly. She turned to Esme. "Thank you again for taking me along and paying for my ticket at the Space Needle."

"Of course. Thank you for spending your Saturday with us." Esme gently wrapped her arms around the brunette, surprising her slightly.

Amethyst turned to see Alice had disappeared and Jasper was standing in her place. He had changed from his heavy winter clothes into a blue button up and black jeans, and Amethyst found herself drawn to him once more.

The pair trailed out to the Volvo, climbing in silently. Neither one said anything as they backed out of the garage and drove on to the highway.

"I heard your conversation with Alice."

"And?" She asked, not making eye contact with the boy, instead picking at her leggings.

His hand laid over hers to still it, that time not pulling away from the contact. She stared at the spot where they were touching, her heart racing.

"Why are you freezing?"

"I've told you before. Poor circulation," Jasper murmured, still not moving his hand.

They drove in silence for a while longer, Amethyst willing herself to actually grab his hand, but losing her nerve every time she got close.

When they pulled into her driveway, he removed his hand, disappointing the girl slightly. Jasper turned to her.

"Thank you for coming with us today."

"Thank you guys for being so kind to me. I know I don't always deserve it."

He shook his head slightly with a small smile. "Don't take everything I say to heart. Sometimes I'm more driven by emotions than I am by logic."

Amethyst smiled and looked down at her legs, not wanting to leave the car. "Are you going to tell me what you got me for Christmas?"

"You can wait two weeks to find out." His voice held amusement, making her smile and look up at him.

Jasper's gaze was more powerful every time she met it. He had a way of keeping her eyes locked on his without saying anything and she was enticed by the look in his eyes. Amethyst slowly leaned over, unsure of her own actions. Using a hand on the center console to support herself, she brushed her lips against his, her heart about to beat out of her chest.

She pulled away just as slowly as she had approached, her eyes still closed. Shocks had fired throughout her body and she didn't want the moment to escape just yet.

"Amethyst, I need to go."

Her eyes opened, jumping in surprise when she realized his eyes were pitch black. "What just happened?"

"Amethyst, please, get your bags and go inside. Now."

She scrambled for the handle, unsure of how to react. The trunk was open when she reached it, quickly gathering all of her bags. As soon as Amethyst had gathered all of them and stepped out of the way, Jasper put the car into gear and sped off.

She wasn't sure if her heart was breaking as she watched the brake lights on his car, but it definitely was not a good feeling. The girl sighed, trudging up the steps to her house.

Amethyst unlocked the door and stepped inside, sliding out of her shoes in the entrance way.

"And where were you all day?"


	16. Dare You To Move To The Hospital

If she lied, the girl was sure her mother would know. If she told the truth, she would have to face the consequences of being disobedient. Amethyst weighed her options, not seeing a light at either end of the tunnel.

"I went out to Seattle to go Christmas shopping," she said, gesturing to the bags hanging from her arms.

Carla arched an eyebrow. "Your car was in the driveway when I got home. Someone just dropped you off."

Amethyst slowly bent to place the bags on the floor. "You're right. I went with some friends who offered to drive."

"And who exactly were those friends?"

"Just some people from school."

Her mother stormed over, grabbing a handful of thick brunette hair, dragging the girl's eyes up to her own. "Tell me who."

"The Cullens," she replied softly, eyes trained down at the floor. Her face quickly came much closer to it as she was tossed away by her mother, finding herself at the base of the staircase.

Carla took a deep breath. "I told you, explicitly, that you were not to bother the Cullens anymore. From what I understand, this is not the first time you have disobeyed that order either."

Amethyst attempted to scramble up the stairs to her room, but her mother quickly reached up and grabbed her vest. Off balance, the girl fell back down the few stairs to the entrance way, landing badly on her ankle. "Please, Mom, they invited me. Dr. Cullen invited me."

"Like I'd believe that." A kick to Amethyst's side made her roll over, groaning. "Dr. Cullen is a man who excels at everything he does. He'd never waste his time on a piece of filth like you."

"He wastes his time on a piece of filth like you every day," the girl spat back.

A foot to her face was the reward for her statement, and Amethyst felt the blood slowly pooling up around her mouth. She reached up and touched the warm, sticky liquid, staring up at her mother in shock.

"Don't you know better than to fight back at this point?"

The brunette struggled to her feet, glaring at the woman as much as possible. "No, I don't. From what I remember, I'm too stupid to understand anything you guys say."

A punch to her stomach quickly landed the girl back on the floor, where a kick to the same spot immediately followed. Amethyst rolled and puked up her hot chocolate from earlier, her stomach not able to handle the force to it.

Carla laughed. "Too weak to be able to handle a little love from your mother?"

"You've never loved me," the girl screamed back. Her nose was still gushing blood and she spat out the pool she had collected in her mouth. "You never wanted me. You guys just wanted an excuse to get rid of me but couldn't find a way to manage it, so instead you dragged me to a place where nobody pries so you could get drunk and take it out on me."

Her arm cracked, making the girl scream. Carla continued to put pressure on the spot where she had stepped, glaring at her daughter. "No one else wanted you so we had to bring you out here with us." She stomped on another part of Amethyst's arm, making the girl scream louder. "It works out because no one can hear you no matter how much you scream."

The girl blindly accepted the pain as her mother landed a few more kicks to her stomach, when suddenly the abuse stopped. Tears streaming down her face, Amethyst forced her eyes over to Edward Cullen, who was pinning her mother up against the wall.

"Hold on, sweetheart, we've called the police." Esme was beside her, stroking her hair. "You're okay, sweetheart; everything is going to be okay."

Amethyst cried into Esme's lap as she laid there, her pain enveloping every inch of her body. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, crying harder. "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, my love. Absolutely nothing."

The girl started to sob harder, before she realized blood was getting everywhere. The puddle reminded her of being trapped in the car with her drunk father as it flipped onto its top, her mind getting stuck on the memory as she couldn't escape from the moment they hit the ice and began rolling. Her chest tightened as the world around her slowly grew more fuzzy, her lungs heaving to try and get air into them.

"Jasper needs to get here. She's having a panic attack," Edward called, looking at the girl from his spot pinning her mother. Carla had begun sobbing, pleading that the girl had come at her first and had attacked her but he ignored her words.

"He's on his way, but he can't come inside the house with all this blood. Amethyst, listen to me. I need you to breathe." Carlisle was there suddenly, taking the brunette's uninjured hand. "Can you feel your pulse?" He guided her fingers up to her neck, but the girl was struggling to feel anything. "Listen, you can hear my voice. You need to lower your pulse. You're safe now."

"She's panicking about the car wreck she was in with her father. Damn it, where is Charlie?"

"Jasper's outside but he is not to come inside this house and we can't take her to him. We can't move her at all until the paramedics get here," Carlisle said, looking up at his wife. "Esme, get yourself out of here."

"I'm sorry, dear," the woman said, gently moving Amethyst's head from her lap. Even with her restricted vision, the girl could see a large amount of blood on the woman's skirt.

"Sorry," Amethyst gasped out, wanting Esme to know she hated that she had just ruined the piece of clothing. "Sorry, so, so, so sorry."

"Damn it, Jasper has to get in here to calm her down. He needs to suck it up and deal with it," Edward called, still not taking his eyes off Carla who had collapsed into a ball.

"You're going to be okay," Carlisle repeated, petting the girl's head. "You'll be okay."

At that point, the world went dark.

Amethyst felt as if she was floating. It was a familiar feeling, not feeling anything at all. The girl knew she had undergone surgery in New York while she had been in her own personal nothingness, and it hadn't been that bad. They picked pieces of glass out of her chest, abdomen and tons of little specks out of her face and arms without her having to feel a thing, so she knew staying asleep was a good solution to her problems. She felt as if she would never get bored of the place, simply just existing. It was a rather light feeling to not have to deal with school, finals, boys or her parents.

The last thought jolted her back into reality, her eyes shooting open an immediately squeezing back shut at the bright light that assaulted them. The girl could feel her chest heaving, trying to find air for her lungs that craved it so badly.

"Amy, darling, can you hear me? Oh, Jacob, call the doctor! Amy, please, calm down, everything is okay. You're okay."

Her mind slowly slipped back into that darkness, pulling it more tightly around her body like a blanket. The emptiness welcomed her back, lulling her in to peace.

She didn't know how much longer she spent in the dark space, but she knew she had to leave it before it was too late. Amethyst knew if she stayed forever that she would simply stop existing, a fate she did not want to become reality.

When she cracked her eyes open for the second time, the light was just as bright. Her lungs had plenty of air flowing in to them, a fact that made the girl very grateful. She moved to push herself up so she could figure out where she was.

"Don't," a soft voice came. The girl turned her head to see Jasper sitting in a chair near the head of her bed. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Wh-" Amethyst tried to speak, frowning when her voice failed her. She went to try again but shut her mouth when a cold hand covered hers.

"Quit being stubborn," Jasper said softly, standing and grabbing a water bottle from her bedside table. "I don't want you to be in here a minute longer than you have to be."

Amethyst was embarrassed when the boy led the water to her lips, allowing him to pour a small amount in at a time. She felt relief the instant the first gulp came, immediately craving more.

Jasper chuckled, pulling the bottle away after a few moments. "I told you to take it easy. Too much is just as bad as not enough."

"What happened?" Amethyst managed to say, staring at him. "Where are we?"

His handsome face immediately contorted, making the girl regret her words. "We're at Forks Hospital. Do you really not remember what happened?"

She struggled to remember for a moment before her brain finally managed to click everything in to place. Thoughts of Carla standing over her came rushing back, making Amethyst's chest tighten and tears well up in her eyes.

However, just as quickly as the feeling came, it passed. "None of that. You're supposed to be resting." Jasper reached up and pushed the brunette's hair away from her face.

The reminder of her hair immediately triggered another thought. "I must look like a wreck."

"I've seen worse." Jasper's charming smile made her lips try to pull up as well. "Now sleep. You've still got a lot of recovering to do."

When she woke up the next time, Jasper wasn't there, but another blonde Cullen did smile down at her. "Hello, Amethyst."

"Hi, Carlisle." The words scratched at her throat, and the man helped her take a drink the same way his son had earlier.

"Now, this may be a ridiculous statement, but how are you feeling?"

Amethyst laughed slightly, looking down at her bandaged body. "All things considered, I'd say I feel okay." Her voice was still rough but they came much easier, relieving her.

"That's a good thing." Carlisle settled in to the chair Jasper had filled when he was with her. "Any pain?"

"All kinds of pain," she said, trying to move her fingers, pleased when she could underneath a cast that went all the way up her arm. "But nothing that's going to kill me."

Carlisle smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Now, your grandparents flew in to town. Would you mind if I went to get them for our next conversation?"

"Will you tell me what happened with my parents first?"

The man shifted in his seat with a small sigh. "Your mother was immediately taken to jail and questioned. She told police you had attacked her and that she wanted a lawyer, but that's all I know right now. Police in Seattle were told to seek out your father, but I haven't heard anything about how that went. Because he wasn't actually caught in the act, police wouldn't be able to hold him for anything anyway."

Amethyst nodded, looking back down at her blankets. "I'm guessing I'll have to make a statement to police as well." She began to pick at the knitted material of her heavy blanket.

"They will. We also have something else we need to discuss. I'll return in a minute with your grandparents." Electric blue eyes followed the doctor to the door, the girl heaving a sigh when he closed the door behind him.

Moments later, it reopened. "Oh, Amy." Her grandmother rushed over to the bed, cupping the girl's face as gently as she could.

Amethyst attempted to smile at her grandmother, but her nose didn't seem to be a fan of that idea. "Hi, Grandma. It's good to see you."

"Oh, doll, why didn't you tell us?" The girl reached up with her good hand to brush away her grandmother's tears. "We would have done everything we could to get you out of here."

"I know, I was stupid. I thought it was something I had to go through on my own."

"You're never alone, Amy." The two pairs of matching blue eyes met, Amethyst smiling as well as she could at her grandfather. "You always have your friends, and you know that you always have us."

Dr. Cullen cleared his throat gently, and Amethyst's grandparents stepped away from the girl. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but there is something I wanted to discuss with all of you."

"Of course," her grandmother said, taking over the vacant chair. "We're all ears, doctor."

"Unfortunately, while we were running tests for internal damage, we noticed something odd on the test results. It would seem as if Amethyst has developed diabetic nephropathy."

The girl immediately started shaking her head. "That's not possible. I ran track in New York and had to pass a physical every season. They would have noticed if I was diabetic."

"That is true," Carlisle said. "Unfortunately, diabetic nephropathy is a bit different from most cases of diabetes. Symptoms aren't often obvious for quite a while after development, and doctors might not think to test for it if you don't show any other significant forms of issues with blood sugar. While it can develop from a case of diabetes, poor control of blood glucose and high blood pressure can also play parts in the formation of the disease." The man sighed slightly, folding his hands. "Of course, repetitive damage to your kidneys didn't help the situation and made the onset much faster than normal."

Amethyst didn't stop shaking her head the entire time he was talking. "No, it's not possible. You must have mixed up test results."

"Amy, let the man talk," her grandfather said, taking her hand.

"Amethyst, I know you've been cold recently, to the point where turning the heat all the way up in your car doesn't keep you warm enough."

She shrugged slightly. "It's December and freezing here."

"Have you had any other tiredness, lack of appetite, itchy skin, maybe some leg swelling?"

"My pants were a bit difficult to get off one time," she defended. "I've never had much of an appetite and it's been a lot to move and go through so much so of course I'm tired."

A squeeze came to her hand, and she looked down to see her grandfather shaking his head gently at her. "Amy, love, if something's really wrong we need to figure it out. Arguing with the doctor won't do you any good."

She quieted down, tears welling up in her eyes.

"So what does this mean?" her grandmother asked, a shocked expression on her face.

Carlisle sighed. "Well, treatments are generally made just to slow the damage being done and control the complications that come with living with a type of diabetes. In some cases, a kidney transplant may be necessary. Amethyst does have a large amount of damage to hers, but I believe with the correct treatment the disease can be stabilized."

"Thank you, Dr. Cullen." Her grandfather looked down to the girl. "We'd like to talk about this as a family if you don't mind."

"Of course." The handsome blonde man left the room, quietly latching it behind him.

Her grandmother looked at Amethyst with a slight laugh. "You certainly have been living quite the life since you moved to Forks."

A smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. "It's been a trip, for sure."

"And the men here are just so handsome. Your doctor is stunning, and we've seen one of his sons in this room quite a few times."

"Grandma," Amethyst groaned, but the three of them laughed anyway. "I'm sorry."

Her grandfather squeezed her hand. "Don't be. We're here to figure everything out with you."

The first issue to tackle seemed to be where the girl was going to live. Her grandparents wanted her to move back to New York with them, not entirely an unwelcome thought, but the people there probably didn't want the brunette back.

"You didn't see their faces the day I went back to school after the article," she said softly after the suggestion she could return to Stuyvesant. "I can't go back there."

"Well there are plenty of other schools in the city. They'll help you get into a great college," her grandmother tried.

Amethyst shook her head again. "I don't want to move back there. Not permanently."

Her grandfather heaved a sigh. "Well, then you'll come with us at least temporarily. You can take your finals online through the school and stay with us through Christmas break."

His statement surprised the girl. "I was supposed to take finals this week. I was supposed to start my job at the library. Oh, no," she groaned, pushing her head back into the pillow.

"Don't worry about it, doll. Your grandfather and I went to the school and sorted out your finals work. You'll have an extra week to submit all of them through e-mail. As for the library, we told the lady we had some family issues and you would have to reach out to her about your condition of employment at a later time."

Amethyst sighed heavily. "They'll never give me the job now."

"Don't be too sure. The woman seemed very concerned about you and let us know she can hold the position for at least a little while."

A twinge of hope started inside the girl. "What about me being sick?"

"There are fantastic doctors in New York."

"There is also a fantastic doctor who cares for me here."

Her grandmother was the one to sigh that time. "Amy, who would you even live with? We aren't keeping our granddaughter all the way across the country by herself when we can provide for her and keep her healthy."

"I'll figure it out," she said. "I can't stay in the city anymore."

"Does this have anything to do with the Cullen boy?"

Amethyst considered lying for a second, but decided she was tired of playing games. "Somewhat, yes. But it's just so much easier to live here. The people are nicer, the air is fresher and my schoolmates actually care about my success instead of everything being a competition to get recognized by the best college."

"That isn't a bad thing," her grandfather reminded her.

"It's definitely not the end of the world, but I'm not ready to leave here," she said. "It may not be nationally recognized, but I can make the most of my opportunities at Forks."

"You must be tired," her grandmother said, jumping in before her grandfather could reply. "It's been a rather exhausting time. We're going back to the hotel for the night. Our number is on the nightstand if you need anything."

The two couldn't get close enough to kiss Amethyst without hurting her nose, so they instead patted her hand before making their way out of her room.

She sighed as she stared at the bright lights in the ceiling. Amethyst didn't want New York back. She didn't want the person she was in New York back. Part of her craved the city and the shopping and the convince of the subway, but a bigger part of her had grown to love car rides with chai tea and maroon buildings and golden eyes lingering on her throughout the day.

A knock at the door made Amethyst glance up, a grin trying to work back on to her face when she saw five familiar faces there.

"I was beginning to wonder if you guys had gotten lost," she said, coughing at the strain it put on her throat. Angela hurried over to grab the water bottle from beside the bed, helping the girl drink more from it.

"You've been asleep for the past three days when we stopped by, and some of us aren't getting special treatment when it comes to finals," Tyler joked, grabbing her hand as soon as he was within reach.

"You know me, all about those shortcuts," Amethyst replied with an eye roll, but she was filled with joy at the sight of her two best friends. "Guys, pull up some chairs," she said to the other three boys in the room who grinned at her as they did.

The five of them caught her up on the happenings at Forks High School. Lauren had rejoined their lunch table, a fact Angela insisted she didn't mind in the slightest. Ben told Amethyst all about how Tyler had followed the cute girl from his trigonometry class with such focus he had forgotten his crutches behind, making all of them crack up.

"Where are your crutches?" she wondered, looking over to the boy who hadn't released her hand.

He grinned and showed her his new boot. "It's definitely not the most convenient, but it's a hell of a lot better than getting around on those damned things."

The six continued their conversation until Ben, Eric and Mike stood up to leave, promising they would see her again.

When it was just the three of them left, Angela climbed into the bed with Amethyst, careful not to touch more than the girl's uninjured arm. She gently pulled the brunette closer, leaving enough room for Tyler on the other side without him having to put pressure on her.

"Why didn't you tell us?" The quiet girl asked first, breaking their silence.

Amethyst sighed. "I thought it was my issue to deal with and didn't want to drag you through it."

"I was so mad at you for not telling us earlier, but I really can't be mad after seeing you like this," Tyler said softly, his eyes taking in all of the bandages. "How long has this been going on?"

"When we were first moving here, I dropped a box of china in the kitchen. My father gave me a black eye I had on the first day of school."

A tear slid down Angela's face when she wove her fingers between the brunette's. Tyler also had a somber look on his face when he reached up to smooth out her hair.

"All these scars? And the bruises? You've been hiding them just using makeup this entire time? So that day when it was raining and you had the bruises on your face, those didn't come from falling down the stairs."

"I fell down the stairs, just with a little bit of force." Amethyst attempted to joke, but only received disapproving looks. "I am sorry. I just thought I could do my time and get out of here. Friends weren't really part of the plan."

"Best friends," Angela said, softly, drawing herself closer to the girl.


	17. Dare You To Move Back The Way You Came

Angela drifted off to sleep as the three laid there, and Amethyst tried to make her follow suit. But a thought nagging at the back of her mind was keeping her up, and she knew she wouldn't sleep until she got it off her chest.

"Hey, Tyler?" she asked softly, not wanting to wake the girl who was peacefully sleeping.

"Hey what?" The boy had been tracing patterns on her cast, careful not to jostle her arm.

She sighed. "My grandparents want me to move back to New York with them."

Tyler froze in his drawing, frowning as he made eye contact with Amethyst. "I guess that is the logical thing for you to do."

"Logical thing doesn't mean I want to do it," she said with a sigh. "Forks has really grown on me."

"We'll figure something out," he said, reaching to touch the unblemished part of his friend's face. "We always do. Now sleep. You need to feel better."

But sleep seemed as if it would be far from her reach as there was a knock on the door, opening to reveal Dr. Cullen with two police officers behind him. Angela stirred at the knock, wiping the sleep away from her eyes.

"Amethyst, this is Chief Charlie Swan and one of his deputies. They want to talk to you about what happened."

She nodded, knowing it was coming. "Don't leave," Amethyst said softly when she felt Tyler adjust in the bed.

He settled back in beside her and the girl pulled Angela as close as physically possible. The two cops walked in, finding seats in the multiple chairs around her bed.

"Now, Ms. Ashford, we normally have to question minors with their parents or legal guardians," Chief Swan said, looking uncomfortable. "But considering the situation, we just need an assurance from a doctor that you're in your correct state of mind, which Carlisle has been kind enough to give us."

Amethyst's eyes traced over to Carlisle who was still standing by the door. He nodded at her slightly in encouragement, so she drew her attention back to the two men in front of her.

"Alright. Do I tell you everything? Or just what happened that night?"

"I do need you to go through everything. We can take a break whenever you need it."

She took a deep breath when she nodded, squeezing Angela's hand.

"The first time, it was my dad who hit me. We were moving and I dropped a box of china. He also hit me the second time, when he and my mother both cornered me in the kitchen. They accused me of trying to destroy my mother's job at the hospital by associating myself with Dr. Cullen's children."

Amethyst surprised herself by not crying the entire time, even when Angela had to excuse herself from the room. Carlisle had come over and taken the girl's hand when her friend left, a small smile of gratitude on her face at his action.

"And then there was this last time, Sunday night." She looked up at the doctor who was watching her somberly. "I had spent the day with the Cullens in Seattle, going Christmas shopping. My father had gone back to his job the night before and my mother was here, working her shift when I left. We didn't get back until 8 or 9 p.m." She frowned, unhappy she couldn't pinpoint a better timeline. "Jasper Hale had driven me home from the Cullen house, and we had been in the driveway for about five minutes. I got out and collected all my bags and he left immediately after.

"When I walked inside, my mother was waiting for me. She questioned me about who I had been with because my car hadn't left the driveway. Carla grabbed a handful of my hair and threw me to the floor, telling me I had disobeyed her. When I tried to get away up the stairs, she pulled me back down and I twisted my ankle. I tried to tell her the Cullen's had invited me, but she kicked me in the side. We exchanged some words before she kicked my face. I tried to stand up and fight back verbally, but ended up on the floor after two hits. I know I threw up after that happened. She broke my arm after we screamed at each other some more, and she was kicking my stomach when the Cullens arrived. From there, all I remember is passing out."

Chief Swan nodded. "In all those words, did you ever tell her to hit you or in any way make it seem as if you would attack her?"

"Not physically. I accused her of never loving me and people having to put up with her the same way she told me people thought of me."

"And why were the Cullens there? You said the boy left before you went inside."

Amethyst frowned up at the doctor. "I'm not sure."

"You left one of your bags in the trunk and Edward had gone out to get his school bag. Esme and I needed to run to the store anyway, so we all agreed to get in the car together. You'll find all of that information in the statements my family gave, Chief."

The man smiled back. "I'm sure we will. You just know how all this goes, Carlisle."

"All too well. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to attend to my other patients now that you're okay." Carlisle patted the girl's hand gently before he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Amethyst smiled hesitantly at the two officers who were still in the room with them, her fingers seeking out Tyler. "Is there anything else?"

"No ma'am. You did wonderfully." Both men stood up, Chief Swan smiling a bit at the girl. "You should know this case will be heard in court, where you will have to testify against your parents."

"My grandfather is a prosecutor in New York City. I'll figure something out." At least that was something she knew with certainty.

"The trial will have to be heard in court here, though, so you will have to be here for the court date."

Amethyst nodded slightly. "Which is?"

"We will reach out to you as soon as we know. Your grandparents were kind enough to give us a phone number when we spoke with them a few days ago."

"Thank you both," she said, not letting the tears fall that she finally felt build up.

Just before they were both out of the room, Chief Swan turned around. "You know, my daughter is about your age. She's going to be moving up here with me soon. I can't imagine what it would be like for her to go through all of this. You're a strong young lady."

Amethyst smiled weakly, the tears winning out and sliding down her face. Tyler hushed her as he brought her close, ever mindful of her various injuries.

The girl drifted off to sleep somewhere in the middle of her tears. When she woke up, her bed was cold but three cheerful faces greeted her instead.

Her grandmother was knitting something that looked to be a blanket, while her grandfather was flipping through the newspaper. They were both laughing quietly at something, and Amethyst tuned to see Alice Cullen who seemed to be in the middle of a story, but broke off when she noticed the girl.

"Oh good, you're awake! I was wondering if I would have to wrap Christmas presents without you."

Amethyst reached up to scrub her eyes, not entirely sure she was awake yet. "What're you on about now?"

"I went to your house, which we've done some major cleaning to, and grabbed all of the presents you bought out in Seattle. I wanted to wrap them with you before you left for the city."

She was never sure quite what was reality when it came to Alice, but Amethyst sat up in bed, thankful when she discovered the bed could be raised further so she could actually sit up without straining herself.

The four kept up a steady conversation as Amethyst pretty much watched Alice wrap all the presents, as she only had mobility with one hand. Carlisle came in after a while , smiling at the sight before him.

"Welcome to your treatment plan," he said, bringing a cup of medicine over to the brunette. "For now, I have you on a few prescriptions that will work to make your system slow the damage it's been taking, as well as regulate a bunch of confusing medical things that are happening right now. You'll also have to go on a diabetic diet, and we need to run another test before you leave to figure out about getting you insulin."

Amethyst nodded, sighing when she looked at the myriad of pills in the cup he handed to her. "Bottoms up," she said, tossing it back into her mouth before taking a huge gulp of water to get all of them down.

Carlisle took some blood from the girl before leaving again, reminding Alice not to be home too late. His statement made Amethyst tilt her head slightly.

"What time is it?"

"Almost 5," Alice said slightly, sticking a bow on Edward's present. "You didn't wake up until 3 today."

Her grandparents said goodbye not too much later, promising to be back the next day. Alice didn't stay much longer either, noticing the girl's drooping eyelids and poorly hidden yawns.

"Thank you for doing that," Amethyst said, looking at the pile of presents on and around one of the chairs. "I wouldn't have even thought about it otherwise."

"I'm always here for you," the small girl said with a smile, the double meaning not lost on her friend.

Her grandparents were the first people back in the room the next day, waking her from a heavy sleep.

"We're going to get everything sorted out for us to go back to New York tomorrow. Dr. Cullen said you'll be free to leave," her grandmother explained, smiling at the girl. "He has your medicines all sorted out and we can take you for checkups in the city."

Amethyst didn't argue, allowing both of them to kiss her forehead before they walked back out of her room. The brunette had been alone for enough time she was beginning to get annoyed when her door opened again.

"Carlisle sent your medicine," Jasper said, walking over with a water bottle and a small cup. Amethyst repeated the process from the day before, not saying anything.

He tossed the cup in the trash before pulling up a chair to the head of her bed and simply looking at the girl.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Stop staring."

"Not likely."

"Didn't you bring anything else to do?"

Jasper leaned forward. "Why would I need something else to do when I can look at you?"

Amethyst blushed and looked away, surprised not to hear him leave the room. She looked back, his gaze just as intense.

"Will you get in the bed with me?"

"I'm sorry?" His eyebrows slowly floated up on his forehead.

"Please. Angela and Tyler did yesterday and there's just something about laying here with someone, knowing you're both alive and safe and that you're together that makes everything a little bit easier."

"I'm really not sure I'm the best candidate for that role."

She sighed. "Please, Jasper. It's the only thing I've asked of you and it's the only thing I really want." Amethyst scooted all the way over on her bed, putting her cast against the far divider.

He sighed and ran his hands through his curly looks, staring at the spot she had just opened for him. "Well, I'm going to hell anyway," Jasper muttered, just loud enough for the girl to hear. He gracefully maneuvered his long limbs next to her, not touching her at all.

"You're not going to hell," she muttered, looking into the boy's intense golden eyes. "I might be, but you'd never be sent there."

Jasper laughed bitterly. "If you're getting sent to hell, I'm damned to the very darkest ends of the world."

Amethyst gazed at him steadily, the kiss playing over and over in her mind. She wanted to feel those tingles again and get that happiness back, but didn't want to test her limits with him after he had left so readily the previous time.

The two stared at each other for quite some time, Amethyst memorizing every inch of his face before she would have to leave him for an unknown amount of time. She wanted to remember the way his odd colored gaze pierced straight through her, the way his blonde locks were always tamed perfectly and the way his mouth turned up ever so slightly in the corners.

"I'm going back to New York tomorrow." Her voice was soft, not wanting to shatter the perfect silence around the pair.

"So I've heard." He reached over, hesitating slightly before touching her for the first time. Amethyst closed her eyes as Jasper's fingers ghosted along her forehead, finally tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "You'll be back, though."

She felt her chest tighten. "How do you know?"

"Everyone finds their way home eventually." Electric blue met honey gold, her eyes expressing everything she couldn't say. Jasper slowly trailed his fingers down from her face to her arm, placing his hand over hers and sending shivers through her body. "You don't need to worry so much."

"I can't help it." Amethyst thought her heart was about to pound out of her chest. "I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave this place. I don't want to leave these people." She knew he understood exactly what she was implying.

"Just don't worry yourself." He gently turned her hand, twining their fingers together. Amethyst stared down at her naturally tan skin, amazed by how perfectly it worked with his marble perfection. "Just sleep. Everything will work itself out."

Her eyelids grew heavy at his words, the girl unable to fight to keep herself in the moment any longer.

A cold bed greeted her again the next morning, but Amethyst couldn't fully bring herself to be upset about it. Every touch, every look seemed to intimate when it came to Jasper that she found it difficult to have negative feelings toward the boy.

Her nurse walked in not long after she woke up, helping the girl out of bed to get herself cleaned up. Washing with a full arm cast proved to be one of the more challenging things Amethyst had tried to do in recent times, but she was finally satisfied she no longer smelled nor looked homeless.

She had a tank top, jeans, flats and a cardigan waiting for her. The brunette frowned when she was still cold after pulling the layers on, turning when there was a knock at the door.

Her grandparents walked in with smiled on their faces, but her grandfather let out a chuckle when he saw the girl, matching her grandmother's sigh.

"What?" she asked, looking down at her clothing. Other than the fact that she had to leave the arm of her sweater off on one side, she didn't think she looked that ridiculous. That is, until she glanced in a mirror.

The girl saw the bruises on her face, her taped nose, her arm fully in a cast and the brace around her ankle and sighed. "Alright, I suppose I do look like Frankenstein's monster."

"A very beautiful monster if I do say so myself," her grandfather said, walking around to gather together the presents Alice had wrapped. "Is this all you have?"

Amethyst nodded. "You know me, travel light."

The girl made her way out to the car with only a small amount of help from her nurse, who told her not to be back soon. She smiled at the woman who had been very kind to her before settling in to the back of the Jaguar.

"To the airport?"

"No, to your house first," her grandmother said, turning around to pat her knee from the front seat. "You still need to get your things together and I believe your friends wanted to meet you there to say goodbye."

Amethyst was silent the entire time they drove through Forks, wondering how she would react at seeing the home. However, when they pulled into the driveway, she didn't have time to ponder her hate for the house, instead laughing at the eleven people who were standing together in her driveway.

"Welcome home that you're immediately leaving!" Eric joked when she climbed out of the car, making the girl laugh again.

"You guys didn't have to all be here," she said, hobbling her way over to hug her friends. Mrs. Crowley and all the Cullens were there was well, but she was distracted before she actually made her way over to greet them by a pile of presents. "What's all that?"

"We figured we would send Christmas with you since you won't have the chance to spend it here." Tyler explained with a grin.

She smiled at him, her heart melting slightly. "That's so great, you guys. Thank you so much. Actually, all of your presents are in the trunk if you want to sort through them. I need to go pack a bit but I'll be back soon." Amethyst grabbed Angela's arm and tugged the girl upstairs with her.

The pair quickly threw together a suitcase with enough clothes for a month, tossing in all of her makeup and hair supplied as well. Amethyst sat on the suitcase as Angela dragged the zipper around it, laughing and trading high fives when they managed to get everything inside in one try.

"I'm really going to miss you," Angela said softly, smiling at her friend. "I've gotten way to used to you being here."

Amethyst placed her forehead against the girl's with a small smile. "Don't think of it as me not being here. Think of it as a reprieve from the more troublesome of your friends."

"That doesn't help," the taller girl said with a small laugh. "I love the trouble."

The two girls wrestled the suitcase down the stairs, grateful Emmett was waiting at the bottom for them with an eyebrow raised.

"Need some help there?"

The girls glanced at each other, cracking up. "Some help would be great," Amethyst said, slightly breathless through her laughter.

Emmett easily took the suitcase out to the car as Angela made sure her friend stayed balanced on her one good leg, the pair finally in front of all of their friends. Tyler handed Angela her present, explaining they had taken all of them out of the trunk in order to make room for the ones that were being shipped off to New York.

Amethyst hugged the two of them together, which ended up more more difficult than she anticipated. Between both her and Tyler being in a boot and her entire arm effectively being immobile, the brunette ended up being squeezed in the middle of her two best friends instead. Tyler dropped a kiss on the top of her head while the girl wrapped her good arm around Angela, wishing she could stay there forever.

"I told you not to worry too much about moving," Tyler said softly to Amethyst. He nodded over to where his mother was speaking with her grandparents. "Mom said we might have enough room in the house for an extra person, just pending a few things."

She stared up at him in shock, feeling tears well up in her eyes at his words. She shook her head, trying to clear them away as she pressed her lips together. "Thank you," Amethyst finally managed to get out, her voice shaky. "It means the world to me that you would even offer."

"I told you we would take care of everything," he said, squeezing both girls one more time before letting them go. Amethyst reached over to place a kiss on his cheek, giving him another watery smile. She hugged the other three guys from her lunch table, thanking them for giving her a place to not be an outcast for that semester.

Amethyst shook hands with Rosalie, who looked as if she would rather not be there, and turned to Edward, shaking his hand as well.

"Thank you for being there," she said softly.

His lips quirked up. "I couldn't let my only piano student escape that easily."

Emmett hugged the girl, mindful of her injuries. Alice was much less careful, holding the girl as close as she could for a few moments.

"I hope you love every second of being back in New York," Alice said, squeezing her with surprising strength for a girl her size. "Remember that I'm jealous of every second you spend in the city."

That only left one goodbye, the one Amethyst didn't know how to make. She looked at Jasper carefully, trying to gauge his mood before she did anything. He simply stared at her, the usual quirk on the sides of his mouth missing.

Deciding it might be her last chance, the girl got closer to him. Amethyst put one hand on his stomach to steady herself as she only used her good leg to raise herself up to his height. She pressed her lips against his, savoring the chill that came from his.

It took her a moment to realize he was kissing back, even though he wasn't touching her. Amethyst stayed there in her own personal heaven for more time than was probably proper, only forcing herself to pull away when she realized she was out of breath.

"Bye," she said softly, her voice more directed to his chest than his face as she wasn't sure she could face him again after such a bold move.

He gently took her chin, angling her face up to his just so he could brush his lips over hers once more. "See you soon."

Amethyst tore herself away from him, every part of her body screaming at her to stay there instead. But she walked over, hugged Mrs. Crowley and climbed into the backseat of the Jaguar.

Her grandmother turned around to her as they backed out of the driveway. "That was quite some display there, doll. I didn't realize quite how serious you two were."

"I didn't either," Amethyst breathed, waving at her friends with her good hand as they pulled away, Jasper's golden eyes the last one she watched as the car pulled away.


	18. Dare You To Move Using The Subway

Amethyst forgot how miserable holidays could be in the city. People were everywhere, clogging up the subway and lost as she attempted to navigate her way to the pharmacy. Carlisle had given her grandparents a week worth of all her medicine including insulin, but she had to go pick up the refills he had prescribed before she ran out, just in case of emergency.

She walked into the Walgreens near Times Square and exhaled, happy to be away from the biting air and crowds of tourists. She waited in line at the pharmacy counter, her mind reviewing her trip back to her hometown that far.

Amethyst hadn't left the house for three days when they got back, instead taking the time to complete her finals, sorting out her employment with the library and catch up on the sleep her body couldn't seem to get enough of with her illness. She had finally gotten up and put on makeup that Wednesday to go down to her grandfather's law firm, happy to be lost in the archives of solid, sturdy precedent for a while. And that left her, standing in the Walgreens three days before Christmas.

"Next," called the woman at the counter.

Amethyst stepped up instantly, digging through her bag to find her wallet. "Hi, Amethyst Ashford?"

"One moment." As the woman disappeared, she grabbed her Washington ID, taking a moment to stare at it. She had heard from Tyler and Angela already, both sending her e-mail updates of the snow that had attacked Forks, but there was a static silence from the Cullens.

"I have five prescriptions ready," the woman said and Amethyst handed over her ID and insurance card. The woman put everything into the system as the brunette studied the tourist trinkets they had on display with minor disgust. "Alright, Ms. Ashford, I still need you to confirm your date of birth for me."

"February 23, 1989," she replied immediately.

The woman nodded, handing back her cards and bagging all of her medicine. "Happy holidays," she said with a small smile that the girl returned.

Before she left, Amethyst went and picked up more concealer, as she had used the last of it to prepare her face for going outside that day. Stepping out into the bitter cold, she pulled her pea coat tighter around her frame and tucked her face into her scarf, making her way to the subway stop.

Tea was waiting for her when she got home, so Amethyst went to grab her laptop and joined her grandmother in the kitchen.

"Got everything you need?"

The brunette nodded as she took a sip of her tea, making a face. "I don't think I'll ever like the taste of this stuff."

"Well you know you have to cut back on your hot chocolate intake," her grandmother chided as the woman flipped through a magazine. "And tea is good for the soul."

"Says people who can still drink hot chocolate if they want," Amethyst grumbled as she pulled her knees up to her chest. Angela and Tyler had sent over pictures of them with the lunch table group, and the brunette was slightly surprised to see Lauren joining them playing in the snow. She typed out her reply and thanks before complaining about the lack of snow in the city.

"How's your boyfriend?"

"Not my boyfriend," Amethyst immediately replied, hitting send on her e-mail. "But my friends sent over some really fun pictures."

"Don't dodge the question," her grandmother accused, making the girl roll her eyes and smile slightly. "Why didn't you ever tell us about Jasper?"

She sighed, her fingers hovering over the keys as she wondered if she should e-mail the boy first, since he didn't seem to be reaching out to her. "I wasn't sure there was anything to tell most of the time I was out in Forks. Honestly, I'm still not sure there is."

"Well, distance always make the heart grow fonder."

The brunette considered the words, shutting her laptop with a sigh. "Do you guys still have that Christmas movie I used to love? The one where the kids ride on a snowflake to get to Santa's workshop?"

"You haven't been gone that long," her grandmother reminded her with a chuckle as the two left the table to put on the movie in the living room.

Her life was pretty static with her grandparents. Amethyst talked things through with her grandfather about the case she would face back in Forks and she sometimes joined him at the office, but they mainly allowed her to do whatever she wanted. So she spent her time e-mailing her friends and taking the subway everywhere, at least pleased the city knew how to get people around efficiently. The crowds of people in every subway train wasn't particularly pleasing, but the fresh air that only left the girl shivering part of the time made everything much more worth it.

Her medicine really did work, helping to regulate her body temperature more than Amethyst had predicted it would. She got a fair amount of her appetite back, a fact that made her happy when she could scarf down a full meal of her grandmother's cooking every night. The brunette also noticed she just left lighter, healthier and stronger, traits she didn't even realize she had been missing.

Christmas came and went, the girl happy with her pile of presents. Her grandparents had purchased her a myriad of new clothes which Amethyst excitedly sorted through. Angela had gotten her a silk scarf, further proof the two were very similar, while Tyler got her a Space Needle keychain and a pair of plum colored earrings. Alice and Rosalie had purchased the girl new tops with name brands that made her squeal in excitement, while Emmett and Edward had gotten her books by Phillip K. Dick, her favorite author. Amethyst instantly fell in love with Carlisle and Esme's present, a silver cuff bracelet that had the skyline of Seattle engraved along the outside and she pushed it onto her wrist when she unwrapped it.

The brunette had kept Jasper's present in the paper, not sure she should open it with the odd place they were at in their relationship. He had yet to contact her after a week and change, so she left his present on her nightstand.

Amethyst heard the phone ringing on New Year's Eve, as she was sitting alone in the living room painting her nails. Her grandmother had gone to the store to stock up for the holiday while her grandfather was at work, so she quickly blew on her nails as she made her way over to the wireless receiver, balancing the phone between her shoulder and her face with her one good hand.

"Hello, Ashford residence."

"What's going on with you silence?"

She felt the tiny bubble of hope the brunette almost hadn't recognize in her chest pop. "Oh, hi Alice."

"That's all I get? 'Oh, hi Alice'? You left a week and three days ago and I haven't heard a thing and I do believe I deserve quite more than that and an apology for you going missing."

"Do you know how many hours it's been since I left as well?" Amethyst joked, blowing on her nails as she made her way back to the living room.

"Yes but I thought that would freak you out."

The girl snorted. "Well I'm sorry for not contacting you earlier. Thank you for the tops, though. They're super cute."

"It's a fair trade for my yellow pumps. They are so perfect and I just have to find some place to wear them as soon as possible."

"Just wear them to the grocery store. A pair of black jeans with a white top and those shoes, maybe with a similarly colored scarf. You'll be the talk of the town."

Alice's laugh was refreshing to the girl, making her crave the rainy state where she could also see the grin on her friend's face. "Great idea. Now, why haven't you opened Jasper's present?"

Amethyst paused in the middle of painting her toes. "How do you know that?"

"Because I know everything, and more specifically I know you."

"I don't know, it just seems odd," she said, focusing back on the brush she was using to finish up her nails. "I basically laid everything out on the line for him, might I add decently publically, and haven't heard anything while I've been here and that basically feels like rejection."

"And you're going to let one attempt stop you?"

The brunette screwed the lid back onto her polish with a sigh. "I don't know, Alice. Boys are weird and we're 16 and life is difficult and I can't get Jasper Hale out of my mind and he knows it and I still know nothing about the way his mind works. I can't even tell you his birthday."

"Does that matter?"

"No," Amethyst flopped back on the couch, considering the dark green polish she had used on her nails. "Jasper just makes me feel so out of control. I am in control of so much of my life and have refused to relinquish it in so many ways and yet with him, even when I'm kissing him first or being the one to make the move for his hand, I feel as if the world is one second from falling apart."

"Welcome to being in love."

"I am not in love," she said defensively. "I really don't even know what I feel about him other than the fact that he makes my head spin in a good way."

Alice sighed. "Then contact him first."

"My grandmother said absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"But out of sight could also mean out of mind if you aren't careful. Besides, how old is your grandmother?"

"Hey," Amethyst said sternly, pointing as if the small girl were in the room with her. "No insulting the grandparents."

"I wouldn't dare. Just open your present and tell him how much you love it."

"Only if you let me borrow your cherry blossom scarf at some point. I am low key in love with it."

Alice giggled. "Consider it yours. Catch me up on New York after you've talked to him. Deal?"

"Deal."

Amethyst hung up the phone with her mind put back together about Jasper. She knew what she wanted to say, immediately booting up her laptop and writing out her e-mail.

 **Jasper,**

 **It's difficult to find words that stretch across the span of the entire United States. It's always so easy to know what to say when I'm around you, because sometimes I don't even have to say anything. And that's pretty great.**

 **You know I care about you. That's been very well established up to this point. And radio silence isn't the best way to express care, but I believe you understand the challenge of basically having a one sided conversation with a piece of technology.**

 **The city is overrun with tourists, every bit as miserable as it is every other holiday season. I can't quite bring myself to say I'm home, as I rather agree with your statement that New York isn't where my heart belongs anymore.**

 **Christmas was wonderful, thanks in a large part to your family. I hope the Christmas tree I worked so hard to put up could bring some of the holiday cheer I find myself missing desperately into your home.**

 **We're working to figure out what is going to happen in the new year. I still don't have a solid answer as to whether I will be forced to find a new school here or not. While the fact I have a job, a trial and a potential place to live leads my grandparents to be a bit more willing to let me move back, I'm not sure they're willing to leave me without family.**

 **I do think about you while here, wishing our banter could make the streets of New York just a bit more tolerable. Then again, anything would be an improvement over trying to go into the city as we count down the hours to the new year.**

 **Take care of yourself. I need you to be in one piece when I finally make my way back home.**

 **Yours,**

 **Amethyst**

She didn't even take the time to proofread her message, sending it the instant she finished typing. Amethyst sat and picked at her cast for a minute, sighing when she knew she had to stop stalling. Although, it wasn't considered stalling if she kept her promise to Alice by sending the girl an update on everything before opening her present. She typed it out, and sent it off, finally forcing herself to move.

The brunette stood from her desk chair and walked over to her nightstand, picking up the long box. She refused to allow herself to be nervous, finally tearing open the paper and lifting the lid off of the jewelry box, instantly in awe of the necklace inside.

An Empire State building charm, a Space Needle charm and an amethyst hung from the delicate silver chain that was long enough to let the charms hang hear her chest. The girl traced a finger over the charms, loving every inch of the beautiful silver work.

"Amy, doll, come help me with groceries," her grandmother called, making the brunette jump. She walked slowly out of her room and down the hallway to the kitchen, still staring at the necklace.

"What have you got there?" her grandmother asked, making Amethyst look up. She wordlessly held the box out to her grandmother who whistled in appreciation. "I thought you told me he isn't your boyfriend."

"He isn't. I don't think I deserve this," she muttered, making eye contact with the older woman for the first time.

Her grandmother smiled kindly. "He obviously thinks you're worth it. Now, come here and let me put it on you."

She stood still as her grandmother fixed the clasp around her neck, staring as the charms hung down just barely above her breasts.

"You have plenty of time to stare later, doll. Now come help me with the groceries."

Amethyst attempted to help her grandmother put together their typical dinner for the new year, lamb with Brussels sprouts and new potatoes, but was quickly shooed out due to her limited mobility. The girl laughed despite it, settling down in front of the television to watch whatever crime drama was playing.

She played with her necklace as she sat there, unable to keep her eyes and hands off the charms. It was just so perfect and Amethyst had a hard time believing Jasper had gotten her something so wonderful while she bought him a stupid book.

Her grandfather came home with a huge smile and a bottle of champagne, making Amethyst giggle when he planted a huge kiss on her grandmother.

The two sat in the living room and talked about his day while her grandmother finished up the meal in the kitchen. They moved to the dining table which had been set with the nicest dishware in the house for the occasion.

"Thank you, Grandma. This looks so amazing," Amethyst said, her mouth watering as she looked out over the feast.

The older woman patted her uninjured cheek. "It's no problem, doll. It really is so wonderful to have you here to spend the holiday with us."

The brunette smiled and dug in, grateful her fork split though the food easily as it meant she could actually feed herself. Amethyst happily ate her way through one helping and reached out for more when she realized her grandmother hadn't touched much of her food.

"Is something wrong, Grandma?"

The woman looked slightly startled, blinking at her granddaughter for a moment before replying. "Yes, of course everything's okay, doll. Just thinking."

"About anything in particular?"

Her grandmother reached over and squeezed the girl's fingers that were poking out from her cast. "Just how great it is to have you here."

"You already said that," Amethyst said, putting her fork down slowly. "Is everything actually okay?"

Her grandfather sigh, putting down his silverware as well. "Everything's fine, Amy. We just had a chance to figure some things out today."

"Such as?"

"Such as the fact that you will be moving back to Forks January 9."

The brunette's stomach did a flip. "Really?"

"Yes, really. We figured it wasn't fair to trap you here with us when you were so much happier with your friends out there," her grandmother said, smiling softly.

"But what about the trial? And where I'll be living?"

"Beth Crowley said her son didn't stop bothering her until she agreed to let you stay there," her grandfather said with a snort. "Some nice friends you've got out there."

"Your grandfather and I worked it out so we'll be paying her the money we normally send to you as compensation for groceries and other bills. We're working on transferring you to our health and car insurance, and will take care of both of those. You will have to keep your job at the library, as well as make sure your grades are up. We would also like it if you would get back in to running for the season coming up, because it will also help with your health."

Amethyst felt ready to explode when her grandmother stopped talking, letting a laugh bubble out of her lips the moment the older woman finished. She got up and squeezed both of them tightly, thanking them over and over.

"It's really not you guys," she promised as she went to sit back down. "If I could move you guys out there with me I would."

"Funny you mention that," her grandfather said. "We will be coming out to stay around your birthday, as your court date is in early March. We'll stay in your parents house, but we have to wait until the conclusion of the trial to figure out ownership of it. So we will be out to check on you."

"That literally sounds perfect," Amethyst said, beaming at them happily. "Thank you for being so willing to work with me."

Her grandmother smiled at her sadly. "Doll, you're happier just hearing that you're going back to Forks than you have been the entire time you've stayed here. We would have to be insane and horribly selfish to keep you away from a place like that."

The conversation around the dinner table was much lighter after that, with Amethyst eating almost an entire second serving. When she was finished, she leaned back and put her hand on her stomach.

"They really don't cook like you in Forks, Grandma."

The woman swatted at her. "Oh, hush. We've already said you can go."

A smile stayed on Amethyst's face as they moved to the living room, where her grandfather switched the channel so they could watch the ball drop. It was still enough hours before midnight that the group pulled out Monopoly and played most of the way through a game.

Amethyst counted down until the ball dropped, smiling when it reached the bottom of the screen and was handed a small glass of champagne.

"Well, it's 2005. How do you feel?"

"Absolutely no different than I did 30 seconds ago," the girl declared with a smile. After she had her glass, she stood from her place on the couch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go brag to my friends about how I'm a year ahead of them."

Her grandparents laughed as she left the room, booting up her computer. While there was a twinge of regret in her stomach when she noticed there wasn't a new e-mail in her box, she quickly sent out messages to Angela and Tyler about it already being the new year on the east coast and how she must be so much cooler than them because she was actually a year ahead of them.

Amethyst crawled into bed shortly after, not receiving a reply from any of her friends. She assumed that meant they were out having fun for the new year, which they had every right to do. The girl laid awake for hours, hating the time change more at that moment than ever.

Noticing it was nearing what would be midnight on the west coast, Amethyst went back over and cracked open her laptop, hoping someone would send her pictures of their adventures. However, the message waiting for her in her inbox made her much happier than any pictures would have.

 **Amethyst,**

 **I must apologize, for I also struggled to find the appropriate thing to say. I miss you doesn't seem to quite fit the situation, nor does it really express how I am feeling.**

 **It is different without you here. As I told you, myself and everyone in your presence find your moods so infectious, lacking them almost feels as if I had to surrender a finger or a toe.**

 **Although, I'm sure you're familiar with that feeling right now as well. Do not reinjure your arm, as that cast must go as soon as possible. I meant it when I said I don't want you to be hurt an instant longer than you have to be.**

 **I'm afraid your memory is failing you, as I told you I despise crowds much more than you do. Unfortunately, the city that never sleeps doesn't allow for much breathing, so I don't see a trip in the near future, particularly around a holiday.**

 **But I do enjoy the thought of you shoving your way through crowds with a rather putout look on your face as they get in your way.**

 **Thank you for my Christmas present. I suppose Alice told you about my love for history, and the book offered a very unique perspective on a time period I spent a lot of time studying. It was refreshing to see the Civil War captured in a unique angle. My present pales in comparison to the thought and care you put into yours.**

 **Come back safely. Home is always waiting for you.**

 **Yours,**

 **Jasper Hale**

Amethyst grinned when she reached the end of his e-mail, immediately moving to type out her reply.

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Wow, okay guys, thank you so much. This story is so difficult for me to write because I find myself getting lost in the world and making sure it's told in a way that anyone can connect to it. Just to let you guys know, all your reviews are fantastic. It makes my heart beat a little faster every time I log in and get to read your reactions.**

 **Now, there are a lot of recommendations and statements in the reviews I have been taking in to consideration. You guys have fantastic ideas as well, and I love that you share them with me. At any point in time, if you have an idea for this story or you feel as if something I write is really out of place for the story, you can leave it in reviews or PM me. I greatly appreciate you guys reaching out to me either way.**

 **Finally, a note about me. I work weekends, so I do publish more slowly on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I work to put out two chapters a day during the week and one a day on weekends. I hope you guys keep enjoying the story, because I do love this story and Amethyst as much as some of you guys have told me you do.**

 **Thank you again for your patience and care,**

 **-Situation**


	19. Dare You To Move Home

"C'mon Ashford, I know your ass is out of shape but you'll never get back in if you give up now!"

The girl groaned and pushed herself up off the track with one hand, taking a moment to get her feet under her before slowly making her way down the next 100 meters.

Amethyst had gone to the doctor January 2 and was so excited to finally get her boot off permanently after Dr. Cullen had stuck her in it during her stay at Forks Hospital. The doctor had warned her to wrap her ankle during extensive use, but she had been happy to have the freedom of mobility either way.

The instant the doctor had cleared her, Amethyst went home and called her track coach from Stuyvesant to help her get back into shape. Although still supporting her full arm cast and an ankle wrap, she was determined to keep up with the guidelines her grandparents had set for her.

"Just 200 more meters now, Ashford. You could have done this in your sleep four months ago! Washington made you soft!"

As much as she loved her coach and had loved running, it was pure torture to see the girls lapping her around the track doing twice the distance she was. The brunette hadn't realized how much damage was going on in her body with her diabetes and how much the abuse had taken out of her, but she was certainly feeling it as she basically did a glorified walk down her last 100 meters.

"Good job out there, Ashford." Coach Grey handed her a water bottle, keeping her eyes out on the other girls.

"I suck," the girl complained, collapsing onto the grass. She did find it in her to stretch out her throbbing hamstrings, knowing the pain would only get worse if she didn't stretch while warm.

Coach chuckled. "You do, but you've also only been back at running for about a week."

Amethyst only had one day left in the city before heading back to Forks, but she was grateful for the time she spent with her coach prior to the move. Her bruises had all cleared up, meaning she could run without makeup, and the other girls on the team seemed to avoid her. She also knew getting back to running would have been nearly impossible without a kick in the correct direction, which is exactly what her coach had given her.

"You've lost weight." Speaking of her coach, the woman was eyeing the girl. "I thought track runners were supposed to blow up when they quit, with all the starches we eat."

Amethyst gulped down the last of her water. She had forgotten how much warm water sucked, but knew it would be better for her. "I lost my appetite while I was sick. More or less stopped eating."

"And now?"

"And now I know how to treat myself and am keeping a balanced diet." Coach Grey didn't need to know about the diabetes.

"Good job, girls. Grab some water before hitting the weight room." The entire track team passed the pair silently, grabbing their own bottles before heading inside the gym. Coach Grey bent down next to her once they were all inside. "I'm glad to hear that, kiddo. We miss you on our distance teams."

The girl winced when she pushed her hamstring a little too hard. "I'm not sure anyone will be using me for distance anytime soon."

"No, but you did 800 meters today at a run and 400 at a jog." Her coach pressed on her leg, making Amethyst cry out in pain before the tension finally passed.

"I almost passed out after the 800," Amethyst reminded her, taking over massaging out her leg with her good hand.

Coach Grey stood up with a chuckle. "And yet, you got back on your feet. I'll e-mail you the details of my suggested training for when you're back to the constant rain. What time is your flight tomorrow?"

"6 a.m." The brunette groaned as she stood up, shaking out her legs. "So I better head home."

"You do that. Don't be a stranger next time you're back in the city, okay?"

Amethyst gave an awkward hug to her coach before sliding sweats and a sweater on over her track shorts and tank top, the January air getting to her for the first time. She slowly made her way to the subway stop near her old school, happily collapsing into her seat.

She had a special dinner waiting for her when she got home, as her grandmother had cooked her favorite shepherd's pie. After the meal, Amethyst kissed her grandparents and went to bed.

When her alarm went off at 3 the next morning, the girl thought she would die. She barely would have even been asleep back in Washington, but knowing she would be back home before the night was over motivated her.

Amethyst stuck most of her jewelry in her carry on, only putting on her necklace from Jasper so she wouldn't have to bother with it while going through security. She shoved the last of her clothes back into her suitcase, sitting on it to drag the zipper back around. Her grandmother knocked on the door just as she managed to shut it, chuckling at the position in which she found her.

"You ready, doll? Your grandfather just pulled the car around." Both of her grandparents were taking her to the airport, a fact that made Amethyst very happy.

"Yes ma'am," she said, hopping off her suitcase. "Sandals in January seem like a dumb idea, but I am not wearing shoes through security."

Her grandmother chuckled as she rolled the girl's luggage out of the room, Amethyst slinging her carry on over her good shoulder.

They drove to the airport quietly, the girl unsure of what to say to the people who had taken such good care of her and continued to love her despite everything. When they finally managed to find a drop off spot, they both kissed her quickly, assuring her she needed to get out so they wouldn't block traffic, but that they would call when they could.

Going through LaGuardia proved to be more difficult than the girl had expected as she had to take a transit to a different terminal, but she finally settled into her window seat with the book Edward had given her, the time passing quickly on the flight itself. They landed in Seattle-Tacoma, where Amethyst had to sprint to her connection to Port Angeles, happy she had gone back for even a few days of conditioning ahead of time.

Her anxiety grew as the stewardess told them to prepare for landing. Tyler was going to be waiting for her at the airport to take her home, and school would start the next day. Even though her sleeping schedule was off from the west coast, Amethyst was excited to be able to jump back in to classes and life so quickly.

Tyler, Angela, Ben, Eric and Mike were all waiting at the luggage claim for her with a huge sign that read "Welcome back you big apple." She laughed as she hugged each one of them, careful to keep her arm away.

"What are you guys trying to say about my figure?" Amethyst teased, pointing at the sign.

Angela sighed and shook her head. "It was supposed to say welcome back _from_ the big apple, but apparently some people can't take instructions."

None of the boy's grins diminished, making Amethyst laugh again as she tucked herself back into Angela's side happily. Jasper was right. She had found her way home.

Tyler pulled her suitcase off the baggage claim with a huff, turning to glare at the girl. "Did you pack rocks in here or something?"

"Yes, because everyone knows I would leave all of my clothing in New York to bring back rocks specifically so you would have a difficult time carrying my suitcase."

Amethyst was surprised when Tyler pulled her in to another hug, but she smiled as she squeezed the boy back. "I really missed you and your sarcasm," he said softly before pulling away to smile at her.

The group made their way out to Tyler's van, the conversation flowing easily between them as they piled in.

"By the way Amethyst, thanks for the sunglasses that were obviously meant to fit the Jolly Green Giant," Eric called from the back.

Amethyst considered him for a moment. "I don't really see the difference," she said, only breaking into a grin once the other boys began to heckle him as well.

"But seriously, thank you for the presents." Angela leaned forward, wrapping her arms around the seat and the brunette sitting in it. "I love my scarf."

"It seems great minds think alike," she smiled back at the girl, pulling slightly on her own scarf that was keeping her neck warm.

"Speaking of Christmas presents, who gave you this?" Tyler asked, reaching over to lift her necklace.

"Do you even have to ask?" Ben chimed in while Mike wolf-whistled, making the three boys dissolve into laughter.

Amethyst balled up some receipts on the floor of the van, throwing them back at the guys with laughter. "They're not wrong, but they're so wrong at the same time," she told Tyler.

The hour drive seemed much shorter to the girl, as they went around and dropped their friends off one by one. Angela hugged Amethyst and the seat again before she got out.

"You have no idea how good it is to have you back."

"Trust me, I have a few ideas," Amethyst replied, squeezing her friend's arm.

As Tyler drove away, the brunette pulled her feet up onto the seat and sighed happily, mindlessly picking at the strap on her flip flops.

"So, real talk. Jasper gave you the necklace?"

She laughed. "What are you, Cosmo magazine? Yes, he did."

"Did you two talk while you were out in New York?"

"We e-mailed a few times," she said, a grin pulling on her lips.

Tyler raised an eyebrow at her. "And?"

"And I'm happy. That's what matters. Everything else comes next."

He looked over at her again, but didn't continue the conversation after seeing her smile. "Did you bring me anything from New York?"

"It's sitting in your passenger seat."

"And here I thought you would bring me something I really wanted."

Amethyst pretended to gasp in anger, reaching over to shove him as he parked in his driveway.

"So Mom and I planned this out. We have all the bedroom stuff for our spare room already set up for you, and we can either go to your house and get your things tonight or we can do it next weekend. She said we won't have time to do it during the week."

The girl sighed, not really wanting to go back to the house at all. "I'm going to start working weekends this Saturday, so we might as well do it now. I need to get my car as well."

Tyler carried her suitcase inside, and the brunette stopped to greet his mother and thank her for all she was doing. Although she was waved off, Amethyst was sure she saw a smile on the woman's face.

The pair got back into the van and drove the thirty seconds it took to get to the girl's house, where they both sat and stared at the house.

Amethyst sighed, deciding it was time to get it over with. "Would you mind if I called Alice? Having her and Emmett here would make moving the stuff much easier."

"Don't you mean Jasper?" Tyler teased, making the girl shove him again. She walked up to the house and unlocked the door, ignoring her surroundings as she walked in straight for the phone.

She dialed the number Alice had given her not too long ago, knowing it by heart.

"Are you back?"

Amethyst laughed. "No, I'm calling you from the plane."

"Are you on your way over?"

"Actually, I need help moving my things. I was wondering if some of you guys would be willing to come and help."

"You mean Jasper," Alice asked slyly.

The girl rolled her eyes, growing annoyed that everyone was suggesting it. "Yes, partially. But Emmett would also be appreciated for the sake of moving things and your tiny ass can plan better than the rest of us combined, so you might as well come too."

Alice laughed. "Alright, we'll be there soon."

Amethyst hung up the phone and walked back out of her house, not wanting to be inside if she didn't have to be. Tyler followed her silently, knocking into her good arm when they sat down together on the steps.

"So are we going to run tonight?"

She had spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to tell Tyler and Angela about her being sick. While they had been concerned, they had mostly been great about it. Angela had said she would try to learn how to prepare all kinds of food that were better for diabetics, and Tyler had agreed to join in with her running.

"After sitting all day on an airplane? No thank you."

"C'mon, it'll be good for you. Get your pulse pumping, get the blood flowing. Unless you had another plan for how to make that happen."

Amethyst laughed and shoved his face away when he waggled his eyebrows at her. "Three strikes and you're out, dude. No more comments about Jasper, alright?"

"Then you shouldn't have been all over him in front of all of your friends," Tyler said, making an argument the girl couldn't counter. "Are you wearing makeup?'

"Nope, none." She smiled over at him. "First time since the wreck I've gone anywhere other than training without it. The bruises are all gone and I decided not to give a damn about my scars. They make me look pretty badass anyway."

Tyler snorted. "If you look like a badass I must look like the head of a motorcycle gang."

The two continued to poke at each other until a Jeep pulled down the roadway, making Amethyst stand in excitement.

A small figure rushed out of the car over to her, and the brunette laughed as Alice wrapped around her waist, squealing in excitement.

"I'm so happy you're back. We have so much to do. We have to go through all the clothes your grandparents bought you for Christmas and figure out when we can make a trip to Port Angeles to pick up the things they missed and then we have to make time so we can sit down and do homework together. I'm so happy you're back!"

"You've said that once or twice," Amethyst laughed as she hugged the small girl back. "But it is so great to see you."

Emmett gave the girl a hug next, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around. When her feet were back on the ground, Amethyst turned to the last of their group.

Her heart beat harder as she took in his wavy blonde hair, which was relaxed around his face. The slight pull at the corner of his mouth was a bit more pronounced than normal, and he was wearing a white t-shirt over his dark jeans, a black athletic jacket on top. She worked her way back up to his eyes, grinning when she made eye contact with him.

"Hi," she said softly.

"Hi, darlin'." Amethyst thought she would melt into the ground.

Alice sighed from behind the girl. "You suck at hellos," she said, shoving Amethyst toward Jasper.

The girl hadn't been expecting the shove, off balance as she staggered forward. Jasper grabbed her arms as he corrected her, narrowing his eyes at Alice in the background. When he finally brought his eyes back to hers, they were soft again.

"Hi again," Amethyst said, noticing how close their faces were.

"Hi, indeed," he said, slowly leaning down.

Jasper's lips barely touched hers, but she felt him stop breathing and was sure she did the same thing. Amethyst gathered a handful of his shirt as he kept his grip on her arms, only breaking apart when a pebble was tossed at Jasper.

The pair turned to see Emmett smirking at them. "Sorry, I got a little bored."

Jasper rolled his eyes, letting go of Amethyst to go shove his brother as they made their way into her house. The brunette watched them go, smiling as she considered the fact that Jasper looked just as good from the back as he did from the front. Alice cleared her throat that time, bringing the electric blue gaze back to the two people who were still with her.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Just happy? That's all that's there?"

"Really, really happy." She told him with a smile, grabbing Alice's arm and leading the smaller girl inside.

Both boys were already inside her room when they walked up the stairs. Emmett turned to look at the girl with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you even really live here?"

The room was pretty bare, Amethyst did have to admit, but she hadn't had much to put up anyway. "I tried to not make it home," she admitted, running a hand over her bed spread. "I guess as Forks became my home, this was always just my house. School made me happier than being here."

Tyler wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulder as they stood there in silence for a moment, but Amethyst quickly shook it off. "What is this, a funeral procession? I don't think I have black clothing for everyone." She eyed Emmett, who eyed her back.

"I don't know. I think you might've had enough cups of hot chocolate we might be pushing the same size," he said.

Her jaw dropped at first, but Amethyst also knew the boy was just giving her a hard time. "Yeah, I don't think any of my clothing would fit over your extra-large head. And, quite frankly, I'm afraid to let you anywhere near it."

"Eh, Rose lets me near her clothing and you don't see any of that ruined."

The girl wondered if he put special emphasis on the fact that she was the one who never saw any of it ruined, but didn't want to think about it too hard. "Alright, Alice, Tyler and I will pack clothes if you two want to carry boxes and suitcases out to the cars."

"Do you even have boxes of stuff?" Alice asked, glancing around the relatively basic room.

Amethyst shrugged slightly. "I moved here with boxes, I'm supposing I'll be moving out of here with boxes. "

Emmett and Jasper did end up taking out four boxes with items the girl had in her room that were worth taking. There were some candles, a fair amount of pillows, her laps and some other items that the girl didn't want to have to come back to the house to retrieve if she needed. She was grateful she had kept the boxes in her room so they hadn't had to go searching when they were needed. Alice and Tyler had been folding clothes, chatting lightly between themselves. The petite girl had already filled two suitcases and was helping Tyler finish up his first when Amethyst walked over to them, having sent the last boxes down with the boys.

Alice looked up with a grin. "I think we've got this under control. I grabbed all of your clothes out of your dresser other than your delicates, figuring you would want to do that."

"Good call," Amethyst said, grabbing the smallest suitcase. "Do you guys need another box for hangers?"

"That'd be a good idea," Tyler said, tossing another one onto the small mound already on her bed.

Amethyst shoved all of her underwear into the suitcase, trying to get it all put away before Jasper walked back into the room. She zipped it just as he walked in, feeling slightly relieved. He raised an eyebrow as he walked over to take the suitcase from her, his eyes trailing down to the necklace he had given her.

"It looks perfect on you," Jasper said softly, reaching out to cup the charms in his hand.

Amethyst tried her hardest to fight the blush she felt rushing to her cheeks, not wanting him to leave as he tended to when she turned red. "I don't believe I ever properly thanked you for it. It's better than anything I could've imagined. It makes my gift look stupid."

"Don't say that." His tone was soft but implied that she was not to argue with the statement. "You give me proper thanks every day you wear it. And the book was my favorite present this year."

A smile twitched on her lips. "Not that you were biased at all."

"Not at all." Jasper dropped her necklace and gently trailed his fingers down the side of her face. "I'm glad you're confident enough to go without makeup. You're beautiful with it, but you really don't need it."

"How long have you been working on that one?" Amethyst felt rather breathless but didn't want to show exactly how much affect he had on her.

When he smirked, she knew it broke her façade. "Longer than you know." He walked off with her suitcase in hand, leaving the girl to collect her mind.

Alice walked over and put her hand in the elbow of Amethyst's good arm. "Out of control can be a pretty good feeling."

"It's terrifying in the best way possible," she admitted, smiling down at her short friend. "Now come on. We're only halfway through the move and it's almost," the girl glanced at her watch, "noon."

Tyler cracked up from his spot on the bed. "Welcome back to west coast time, baby." He grabbed the box of hangers he had put together, taking it down the stairs ahead of the two girls who kept their arms linked.

Emmett had the Jeep running when they got outside with Jasper sitting in the back to look after the bags they had piled into the vehcile. "Took you long enough," he hollered. "Where am I going?"

"Literally around the corner," Amethyst called back, pointing the correct direction. He gave her a thumbs up and pulled off, leaving a slightly miffed Alice.

"He ditched me," she said with offense obvious in her voice.

Amethyst laughed, pulling the girl toward her Jetta as Tyler climbed into his van. "It's alright, you can ride with me. I know better than to ditch you."


	20. Dare You To Move To Another Perspective

Jasper flipped through his book for what must have been the fiftieth time since Christmas. The New York Times headlines had such a different light to them than what Jasper remembered, and he loved the new perspective on a time he thought he had known everything about before. He closed the book and laid it down on his chest, checking his watch. It was only 4 a.m. Amethyst hadn't even gotten on her plane yet. Jasper sighed and thumped his head back on his pillow, wishing he could sleep to pass the time.

Although there were perks to being a vampire, not being able to sleep was always one of the ones that bothered Jasper the most. He had been around Amethyst sleeping a handful of times at the hospital, and he craved the way her feelings seemed to just stop for a little while while time was meaningless to her.

 _Amethyst_. She would be back in Forks later that day. Jasper craved every inch of her, wanting to pull her into his arms and never allow another person to touch her after everything she had been through. Then again, he had accidently inflicted an injury on her already. His mind wandered back to the day they met, despite not really meeting.

" _I'm not kidding, Jasper. A girl is going to transfer into your stats class and you're going to fall in love with her. I don't control my visions," Alice said, as if he could ever forget that fact._

" _It's not going to happen. I can't love a human." The two were arguing under their breath as they walked out of the literature class they shared as the last class of the day._

 _Alice sighed. "Then go transfer classes or something. You know how this works."_

" _I will," Jasper said, stalking off toward the office._

 _The secretary inside became overwhelmed when he walked in, making the boy roll his eyes internally. As if he hadn't ever experienced that reaction before._

" _Hi, I was wondering if it was possible to change my schedule."_

" _Sure, dear, anything you need." She was flustered and becoming embarrassed, so Jasper sent her calming waves, immediately annoyed with the unnecessary anxiety. "Alright, Mr. Hale. What class would you like to change?"_

" _I need to transfer out of my AP Stats class into another math. I'm afraid the content isn't challenging enough for me anymore." The lie rolled off his tongue smoothly._

 _The secretary frowned. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hale. I'm afraid all of our upper level math classes are filled other than yours. It doesn't look as if I'll be able to change that for you."_

" _What if I take a step down in math?"Jasper really didn't want to do that. He had already taken the upper level courses enough that being forced to step back down would probably kill him slowly._

" _I'm sorry, Mr. Hale. I can't help you."_

" _Right, thanks." He pushed away from the desk, controlling his anger only through his years of experience._

 _Jasper was brooding when he shoved the office door open, surprised to hear it hit something solid. "Oh, sorry, I had no-" Blood. An overwhelming smell of blood. "I have to go." Jasper quickly walked away from the two people standing at the door, desperately trying to get to his family._

" _Someone, I just smelled blood and I need someone to go take care of whatever happened for me," he murmured, climbing into the Volvo._

 _Alice climbed in with him, patting his knee as he took long, deep breaths away from the scents at the school. "Well, the good news is you won't meet the girl in class anymore."_

" _I didn't get to transfer," he muttered back, not opening his eyes._

" _I know. You smacked her in the face with a door instead."_

Jasper had been so very angry that day. He had seen the girl in the cafeteria but had been unable to smell her against all the people around them. When he had split her lip open, something hadn't smelled right about her. Of course, Jasper later realized that all the damage going on inside her body made her blood smell spoiled. Every day when she came to school with new bruises, she would smell a bit worse, as if a person was leaving a piece of meat out to rot in the sun. He had noticed it quickly, even though it was unclear why it was happening.

 _Jasper could smell her that time. Ever since he split her lip, he found himself more in tune to the odd smell of blood. She walked into the cafeteria with a really tan boy she seemed to be spending a lot of time with. He watched the two argue, attempting to not listen to what was being said out of politeness.. However, it was a little difficult to ignore the boy calling out to her in the middle of the lunch room._

" _Amethyst-" the boy said, reaching out to grab her arm._

 _Jasper wasn't expecting the jerk that came almost as soon as the boy touched her. In slow motion, the tray fell out of her hands, her bowl of soup going toward her body. He wanted to stop the soup from hitting her but knew it was absolutely impossible to step in at that point. Instead, he had to deal with her hurt and embarrassment as the girl, Amethyst, stood there covered in soup. People around them began to laugh, but he was more focused on shock at her reaction._

 _Anger began to radiate from Edward just before the girl looked their way. Jasper waited for her to storm out of the cafeteria before turning to his brother._

 _Edward had his lips pressed together. "Her father abuses her," he muttered. "He had dragged her using the same spot on her arm Tyler tried to touch last night." He looked at his siblings. "She was abused because her mother accused her of trying to ruin her job at the hospital when Jasper hit her in the face with the door."_

 _The anger that came from the others in his group only fed his own, as the boy clenched his hands. No one ever had an excuse to hit their child. When it was over something that wasn't their fault, it was a million times worse. Jasper had to get up and leave the cafeteria, going to the bathroom and staring at himself in contempt for causing the girl such unnecessary pain._

He had hated himself about that. Part of him still did, especially because he never brought it up to her to apologize. He didn't know how the conversation would start. Amethyst still didn't know who they were and he couldn't tell her. Jasper couldn't bring that kind of danger to his family. It was dangerous enough, the game he was playing. Dragging his family into the mess would only make it worse. But there was something about the girl he couldn't keep himself away from.

 _She smelled worse than ever before that day. Jasper couldn't figure it out. He supposed the internal damage coming from her abuse made her blood smell worse, almost as if she wasn't healing at all. It killed him,, to pretend he didn't know anything about what the girl went through. He could feel her struggle on her bad days, and Edward relayed information about things that happened at her house as soon as they found out._

 _But that day, he could smell her the instant they pulled into the lot. "Something else happened," he said, turning to spot the girl the instant he was out of the car._

" _We told Carlisle. We can't do anything else," Alice reminded him, but none of them broke their stares._

" _Why do the Cullens always stare when you're with us?"_

 _Emmett snorted. "Certainly not because she's there."_

 _Those electric blue eyes looked over. The color was so unique, and Jasper was amazed by their brightness when she rolled her eyes._

" _It's not exactly my call. Although, if you could make them stop, I'd appreciate it."_

" _She wants us to leave her alone," Edward muttered, but Jasper frowned._

" _We don't even talk to her."_

 _Edward nodded slightly. "But that's part of the issue. She thinks we just stare at her all the time because it's fun."_

" _What did you do?" A gasp preceded the words, making Jasper and Edward turn back to where Amethyst was with her tall friend._

" _I was clumsy yesterday. I had gone to make a cup of tea, turned on the wrong burner and put my hand down on it by accident. No big deal."_

 _Alice frowned and looked down at her feet. "I didn't see anything about her burning herself."_

" _Her mother actually threw her against the stove after she left the burner on," Edward said, keeping his eyes toward the girls._

 _Emmett leaned in to say something to Rosalie, and Jasper turned it out to listen for more information from the girl. However, she turned around to look straight at them instead._

 _Jasper wasn't surprised very often, but he did not expect the middle finger that she threw at them. He looked down, attempting to keep his emotions from showing on his face while he felt the amusement roll off Edward. The boy glanced up at his brother who grinned at him._

" _Picked a good one there."_

She was so feisty, and Jasper loved it. Her remarks could be biting, and she was so quick with her responses. Amethyst knew how to defend herself, as she had proven in the fight with Lauren that Alice had thankfully broken up. He had wanted to go over and step between them, not wanting any more injury to come to the girl, but Jasper knew the mess that would create.

He had almost created a mess for himself when he had tried to comfort her. At that point, he knew he wouldn't be able to stay away from the girl. Jasper wanted to protect her, keep her safe from everything that went on behind closed doors. He wanted to rip her parent's heads off, because neither of them deserved to be near her yet alone touched her the way they did. When her mother had thrown her down the stairs, Jasper had walked a thin line in talking to her.

 _The Cullens watched the brunette storm out of the cafeteria, her limp much more visible to them than the others around them._

" _I'm going to talk to her," Jasper said, standing up slightly._

 _Rosalie hissed at him. "Are you an idiot? Leave it alone. Do not get involved."_

" _No, Rosalie, she needs him." Alice nodded toward Jasper. "Let him go. She needs someone."_

 _The boy took his tray up and tossed the uneaten food in the garbage, following the rotten scent that wasn't coming up from the trash. Every time something happened, Jasper thought the smell couldn't get any worse, but she smelled so disgusting it partially hurt his nose to be near her, but he wasn't going to stay away any longer._

 _He sat down next to her, waiting for her to say something first. The girl reached for her leggings instead of actually saying anything, picking at the grey fabric._

 _Jasper had heard or seen her do it enough to know it was her habit, and it bothered him. He reached out and put his hand on top of hers, ignoring the temperature difference and hoping she would as well._

" _You pick at everything when you're nervous or bored," he said, not realizing that the comment might come off as creepy until it had come out of his mouth._

 _She ignored any implications, pulling her hand away. "Why are you out here?"_

 _Jasper thought that was a great question. He couldn't tell her it was because he knew her parents abused her and he wanted it to stop. He couldn't say it was because he was drawn to her and the emotions she radiated. "You more than kind of blew up at your friends and Alice sent me to check on you." It seemed to be safer than telling her that her blood stank._

" _Great. So Alice didn't care enough to come check herself and you do everything your girlfriend says."_

 _He shook his head, amazed by how wrong her arguments were. "She's not my girlfriend." Even though Alice had definitely saved him and helped him through hard times, the two could not have a romantic relationship. It didn't appeal to either of them._

" _That's what Tyler told me and what everyone here thinks." Amethyst didn't seem confident in her statement, but he appreciated her at least attempting to defend her point._

" _You of all people should know it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. It's just high school. I don't care and neither should you." Jasper had been around the exact same age group dealing with the exact same emotions for way too many years for him to be affected by it._

 _The girl surprised him by turning to him and staring into his eyes, a sight most people avoided. "I don't."_

" _You aren't acting like that today."_

 _She sighed. "Why are you freezing?"_

 _There was the question he had been waiting for. "Poor circulation. Why haven't you been eating?"_

" _Not hungry. Why are your eyes changing colors?"_

" _Fluorescent lights play with the color oddly. Why are you limping today?" The boy let his eyes roll at the beginning of his statement, hoping it would be enough to distract her._

" _Fell down the stairs." Amethyst had hesitated for way too long for him to believe her before responding. "Why don't you guys associate with anyone?"_

" _We do. I'm speaking with you right now." Jasper wanted to tell her why everything was happening, why they couldn't be around people, but he held his tongue. "Why have you been wearing so many layers?"_

" _It's cold and everyone's bundled up. Why do you hate me?"_

 _Jasper snorted, wanting to tell her that he didn't, but it wouldn't be the entire truth. "You don't always make yourself the easiest person to like. Why do you have so much makeup on today?"_

 _She raised an eyebrow. "Is it a crime to want to look pretty?"_

" _No. But you look better with much less." Surprise flooded her as a blush pulled up to her face, and Jasper had to get up and walk away as the stench overwhelmed him._

 _He considered the fact that she said she had fallen down the stairs, putting together that she had actually been pushed. No matter if it was her mother or father who had done it, someone deserved to pay for putting the girl in so much pain she could barely function._

And then there had been Seattle, where he knew he was leading her on. Jasper could feel her attraction and felt himself growing drunk from it, instead of being annoyed like he was by most people. Jasper had teased her that day and he knew it, but he enjoyed every second of her reactions.

" _This mall isn't actually too bad," Edward said as they walked out to the Volvo with their bags. "I guess Alice making us do Christmas for your girlfriend is actually kind of fun."_

" _Not my girlfriend," Jasper murmured, putting his bags in the trunk next to Edward's._

 _His brother smirked. "And that necklace you bought her didn't mean anything."_

" _Drop it." He couldn't date the girl. She was human. It was threatening to her every second the two of them were together and he couldn't put her in that kind of danger._

" _But you want it. Isn't something you want worth fighting for?"_

 _Jasper walked ahead of Edward into the mall, following the unpleasant scent to the Starbucks on the ground floor. His brother trailed behind him, snorting when Jasper finally got Amethyst into his eyesight and felt relieved no more damage had come to her throughout the day._

 _Enough happened to the girl at her house that he had to be concerned about her, particularly when they were out in Seattle. While Alice could defend her just as easily as he could, he had wanted to be the one to protect the girl that day._

 _His eyes focused on the holder around the cup she was holding, noticing she had almost ripped it apart. Jasper reached out and took the drink out of her hand, not allowing her motions to continue._

 _Amethyst raised an eyebrow when she looked up at him "Excuse you, I'm freezing and want that back."_

" _You're always freezing," he said, concerned about the cause but not wanting to force her to say anything about it. "Besides, you almost destroyed the poor holder."_

" _May I please have it back? It's better than picking at my clothing anyway."_

 _That was too good of an opportunity for him to pass up. The combination of her attraction and affections from other people around them made him pull closer, noticing she grew slightly overwhelmed and that her heart rate picked up. Jasper smirked at the girl, happy at her response to him._

" _At least ruined clothing can lead to some fun."_

 _He topped off his comment by taking a drink of the hot chocolate, forcing down the mud like liquid just to make his point. Jasper knew how she felt last time they had shared a drink, and was not disappointed when she was similarly intrigued and slightly aroused by his actions._

 _When he walked out of the store with Edward and all of the girl's bags, his brother turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you trying to kill the girl?"_

" _No." Jasper responded unnecessarily, shaking his head slightly. "I just can't get enough of her and the teasing is just so much better for me."_

And then she had kissed him. For the first time, he got past the smell of her damaged blood to get the scent of Amethyst. He hadn't stopped her as she moved slowly closer until the smell of fresh apples and clean rain and just picked honey suckle had hit him and he had to leave before he did something he would actually regret. Jasper regretted very little more than leaving her that night.

Those days in the hospital, Jasper had wanted to take everything back. Every moment of teasing, every snide comment, every time he walked away from her, he wanted to take it back. He had wanted to try again, to make himself closer to the girl so he could get her out of the house before she ended up in the hospital.

Jasper hadn't been able to be in the house that night, afraid he would actually kill her mom when he saw the woman. He saw all of her injuries when she was brought out on the stretcher and had to use every ounce of self control he had learned in his many years to stay where he was and let Carlisle do what he did best.

When they laid together in the bed, Jasper gave a part of himself to her. He knew Amethyst wouldn't ever belong to him, and it was selfish for him to hold on to her for as long as he could, but he was willing to be selfish if every moment was like them being together in that bed. And then she had the best way in the world of saying goodbye.

 _As Alice let the girl go, he felt a sense of apprehension build up in the girl. Jasper didn't take it away, wanting to know that whatever Amethyst's reaction ended up being was the one she really wanted to make. Electric blue met gold, as he had been more careful about hunting before being around her for an extended period of time since she kissed him._

 _Jasper didn't feel able to keep his smirk that he usually kept on around her, more overwhelmed by the sadness that came from every direction. The sadness from Amethyst was the strongest, and he silently willed her closer._

 _He almost sighed in relief when she did walk closer. Her blood smelled slightly better than it had in the hospital, but it still overwhelmed her natural smell. Amethyst put her small hand on his stomach and he wanted to lay his hand over it. When she raised herself up on her good leg, he wanted to wrap his arms around her and keep her safe and not make her do any of it on her own, but he couldn't._

 _Instead, he merely allowed himself to kiss her back when her warm lips met his. Even that was probably more than he should have done with his siblings watching, but he couldn't not respond to the girl who was so insanely perfect to him._

 _The girl only pulled away when she was out of breath, Jasper immediately wanting to pull her back "Bye," she said softly._

 _He reached down and grabbed her chin, brushing his lips across hers just one more time before she had to leave. "See you soon," he promised both himself and her._

Their e-mails had been nice, but oddly formal. For all the sass the girl showed when they were together in person, she seemed so contained through e-mails. Carlisle had told the family about her diabetes, explaining that was part of why her blood smelled tainted, along with the abuse. Jasper wondered how she was going to smell when she landed, excited to have her back.

"Hey." Edward was standing at his door when Jasper opened his eyes. "More than enough flashbacks, thank you. She's on the phone with Alice now and is ready for you guys to go help her move."

And so Jasper was in her driveway, staring at the girl who consumed his every thought. Her heart was beating faster and her passion was beginning to take him over as well, and he loved every second of it.

"Hi," Amethyst said softly.

He had missed her voice. "Hi, darlin'."

Jasper would've been happy to stand there and stare at the girl forever. She wasn't wearing any makeup, exposing her scared skin but no other blemishes in sight. Amethyst had put on a very loose sweater over her cast, a pair of perfectly fitting jeans and sandals for her trip, and he loved every inch of it. Alice, however had different plans.

You suck at hellos," she said, shoving Amethyst toward him.

The boy reacted on instinct, reaching out to balance her as he glared at his sister. She smirked at him before realizing the girl in his arms was waiting for him to do something. Jasper turned his eyes to her, focusing back on her emotions.

"Hi again," Amethyst said.

Her scent of apples and honey suckle and rain was intoxicating. A lot of the smell of poison had gone away, as her body was beginning to function more normally with her medicine and bruises finally gone. Jasper drew closer, knowing she had to be his, no matter how selfish it was. "Hi, indeed," he said softly.

He tested his strength by barely touching her lips, but instantly had to stop himself from breathing. Jasper could only hope it wasn't as obvious to her as it was to him as he kept his hands on her arms. When Amethyst's hand came to grab a handful of his shirt, he knew he was done for.

Jasper Hale loved Amethyst Ashford.

 **A/N**

 **Real quick… Shout out to for your reviews. You make me smile every time I see your name on the list and you're so wonderful and you are a large part of the reason I wrote this chapter.** **MarvelsGurl** **,** **Zafrinel** **and** **lilchiblackhawks3282** **, among all the others who leave your kind comments, thank you again. I hope I can keep the story going in a direction that's good for you guys!**


	21. Dare You To Move Back To School

"C'mon. I woke you up before I got dressed because I knew you were going to be a princess about it."

Tyler groaned and rolled away from the girl, pulling his covers up more tightly. "We have plenty of time before school."

Amethyst shoved him again. "You're the one who didn't want to run last night. Get up."

"Get out."

"You're really going to give up before we even start?"

"No, seriously, get out. I sleep in boxers."

A blush rose up on her cheeks. "Fine. Five minutes."

She walked back across the hallway to her room, pulling her pajamas off after shutting the door. Amethyst pulled out an athletic tank top and sweats, annoyed at the fact she couldn't really put on a jacket over her cast. Pulling her sheets of hair back into a ponytail, she opened her door to see Tyler standing in his doorway, yawning.

She grinned as she trotted down the stairs, grateful her body had slightly adjusted to east coast time. She took out two bottles of water and set them on the counter before following Tyler out the door.

"Half a mile out at a run and half a mile back at a jog?" she asked, pulling on her foot to stretch her leg out.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you were a runner."

"I was," she defended. "I was the best on my team at the 3,000 meter. That was also quite some time ago and my body's been through a lot."

"Sorry," he said instantly, but Amethyst waved him off, pressing the ball of her foot against the steps so she could fully prepare her legs.

They started off at a slow run, but Tyler picked up the pace first. Amethyst raised an eyebrow and picked up the pace to keep up with him. He raised the speed again and she caught up, only allowing herself to lag behind when he was at a full-out sprint.

When she ran past him on the way back, she got to give him the smirk he had tossed at her first. Tyler made it in to his front yard and dropped into the grass next to where Amethyst was stretching.

"I told you I was a distance runner," she said. "Basketball and football may have given you speed, but I know how to close a race. Now come on, I need help putting my arm in a trash bag and I refuse to go to school smelling like this."

An hour and a half later, the two were climbing out of Tyler's van at Forks High School. Amethyst was amazed that the maroon buildings actually seemed to welcome her back, a smile pulling across her face

She walked over to her friends, immediately snuggling into Angela's side. "Good morning," Amethyst greeted, sipping on her tea.

"Good morning nothing," Tyler said even though she hadn't really been talking to him. "This monster dragged me out of bed at 6 a.m. so we could go for a mile run."

"That I totally kicked your ass at running," she reminded him, turning her attention to Angela with a roll of her eyes. "You're always welcome to join us if you'd like."

"Running's not really my thing," the girl replied quickly. "But I thought your medicine was helping you warm up, so why the cuddling and the tea?"

Amethyst looked down at her clothing. She had taken to wearing oversized sweaters that fit over her cast, wearing a dark green one she had received for Christmas with her thick, white leggings, boots and the tan silk scarf Angela gave her. "I am warmer. I just like being close to you."

Angela opened her mouth and quickly closed it again at the comment. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"You didn't," Amethyst said with a raised eyebrow. "You really don't need to apologize for saying what you think."

Her friend smiled and tilted her head down as the brunette felt a very familiar shiver go down her back. She turned her head in time to see five people pile out of a silver Volvo, a pair of eyes trained on her the entire time. Electric blue stayed locked on honey as a smile pulled on her face, one that grew when Jasper smirked her way.

"So you two have progressed from just staring to eye sex."

Amethyst looked back to the voice. "Hi, Lauren. I've missed you so much as well."

The blonde rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry for everything that happened before you left."

"I'm not the one you really need to apologize to," she replied, ignoring how disingenuous it sounded anyway.

"I already apologized to Angela."

"Then I have no business with you," Amethyst said, grabbing Angela's wrist. "I don't care who you talk to as long as it isn't to me or about me." She pulled the taller girl off to their first period class.

Her chilly attitude toward the blonde hadn't changed when they sat across from each other at the lunch table, but she wasn't given much time to dwell on it.

"Looks like you aren't going to be the new girl anymore."

Amethyst switched her gaze over to Eric. "I haven't been the new girl since November."

"You're still the most recent person to move here. Until next week, that is."

"Excuse me for not jumping onto the table and celebrating."

"I would pay to see that," Mike butted in, making Amethyst throw a grape at him.

Eric drew her attention back by clearing his throat. "Not concerned at all?"

"About what? Everyone finally finding someone knew to talk about?"

"That Cullen won't find you interesting anymore once new girl gets here."

Lauren was very good at being blunt. "First off, the one I'm interested in is Hale, not Cullen. And secondly, if he's more interested in her, then he should go after her."

The blonde was surprised by her response. "And just drag you along?"

"If you care even the slightest about a person, you are human enough to tell them when your feelings change and if you feel as if things aren't working anymore."

"But you two aren't even a thing."

Amethyst shrugged, popping a grape into her mouth. "Then it doesn't matter either way." She turned to Tyler and snuck a French fry off his try, effectively ending the conversation.

"Did you understand what Mr. Gulden was lecturing about today?" Angela asked, turning Amethyst's attention from her glaring contact with the boy.

She nodded, scrunching her eyebrows a little bit. "Newton's Method is all about working with roots of functions. Were you having some trouble with it?"

The pink in Angela's cheeks was rather pretty. "I think I just fell behind in notes and didn't ever manage to catch up."

"No problem. We can work through the homework while Tyler's at practice tonight and then we can take you home." The basketball schedule switched to Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the semester change. It didn't bother Amethyst very much as she would be working Mondays and Fridays around her weekend shift at the library, and she had agreed to tutor after school on Wednesdays.

"Are you sure you won't mind?"

She frowned at the girl. "Do you think I hate you or something now?"

"No," Angela said, fidgeting with her juice bottle. "I just don't want to bother you with everything else you have going on right now."

Amethyst reached out with her good hand, wrapping it around one of Angela's. "Trust me, I don't have that much going on right now. Even if I did, I will always have time for you." The two girls smiled at each other before the brunette turned back to finished her food.

Her cast thankfully got her out of gym class, but Coach Clapp had her running errands to keep her off the bleachers as much as possible. Amethyst was walking through the hallway with a few books in her arm that had been found in the locker room when a pair of hands grabbed her hips and pulled her into an alcove.

Before she could even gasp, a cold hand was over her mouth. Amethyst followed the hand up to the honey gold eyes, rolling her own pair and shoving his smirking face away. "You know, there are much more effective ways to get a person's attention than attempted abduction."

"But they wouldn't be nearly as fun," Jasper challenged, sliding his hands to her hips. "You genuinely freaked out for a moment when I grabbed you."

"Because you literally could've been anyone," she defended, pulling the books she had in her arm across her chest.. "You could've been a murder or a rapist for all I know."

He raised a perfect blonde eyebrow. "In Forks High School?"

"I'm from the city. You never know."

Jasper grabbed the books from her and laid them on the ground before putting his arms back around her hips. "I believe you said something about dancing on the table today at lunch."

"Don't mind Mike," she murmured, putting her good hand on his bicep while she twisted one of her fingers from her casted arm into his belt loop. "He talks out of his ass."

"I was more wondering when I could expect the show."

She rolled her eyes but grinned as she pulled the boy closer by his belt loop, going up on her toes to press her lips against his. Jasper's fingers dug into her hips, closing any space that was left between the two of them.

Something about kissing Jasper felt scary and perfect at the same time. His lips were freezing, but she knew he would pass it off as a circulation issue if she asked. He tasted warm and sweet, like a peach pie with a lot of cinnamon. But she still always felt out of control when she kissed him, as if he had some kind of natural advantage over her.

Amethyst pulled away first, licking her lips as she kept her eyes closed, savoring his taste and the feeling for just a second longer.

Her eyes cracked open when he chuckled, the laugh shaking his chest. "You okay there, darlin'?" Jasper's voice was lower than usual and her heart started beating a little faster.

"Keep calling me darlin' and I won't be," she said softly, going up on her toes to kiss him again.

When they broke apart that time, Jasper let her go. "I should head back to class."

"Yeah, I suppose standing here all day isn't the best idea in the world."

"I certainly wouldn't complain," he said huskily, reaching out to cup her necklace. "Also, you don't have anything to worry about when it comes to the new girl. Because, just for the record, this Hale is interested in you as well."

Jasper grabbed the books he had set on the floor and pressed them back into her arms, pressing a kiss to the girl's lips one more time before he turned to walk to his class. Amethyst felt on top of the world as she continued on her path to the science wing.

Her steps faltered slightly, thinking about Jasper's words. He had teased her with information from her conversation at lunch even though they didn't sit near each other. The brunette shook the thought away, assuming they had just gotten too loud, a common occurrence for groups in the cafeteria.

When the final bell rang, Amethyst followed Tyler out of their government class.

"I've got to head straight to the gym. I'll meet you and Angela out by the office after practice," Tyler said, pressing a kiss to her cheek before running off to practice.

Amethyst waved sarcastically at his back, turning to walk toward Angela's building. The taller girl seemed surprise to see her approaching, looking around behind the brunette.

"Were you expecting someone else?" Amethyst teased, grabbing her friend's arm and steering her toward the office.

"No, I was just kind of assuming you would say goodbye to Jasper or he would come with you or something."

"Nope, sorry my dear. You're just going to have to settle for little old me."

Angela blushed again. "It's not settling, I just didn't know what exactly was going on with you two and didn't know if I was getting in the way."

"That was very considerate but unnecessary," Amethyst replied, plopping down on the curb outside of the first maroon building, glad the rain was staying away. "I'll tell you what. If we can get all the way through this homework and get you feeling good about Newton, I'll tell you what's going on with me and Jasper so you can stop looking over my shoulder."

"Or you can just tell me and accept the fact that this this topic might have me beaten."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Never accept surrender this early, Angela. Now, book out, come on."

The two worked through their homework for almost an hour, with Amethyst explaining how she got to her solution before having Angela solve the problem and the next one without an explanation. By the time they were finishing the last one, the taller girl didn't need her friend's help.

"I can't believe that seemed to impossible in class," Angela said, snapping her book closed with a sigh. "I makes me feel stupid for not getting it earlier."

"You really shouldn't ever feel like that," Amethyst said, sliding her own paper into the book. "Everyone just works through things differently and sometimes hearing the way someone else works through problems can make it easier."

The girl turned to look at the brunette. "Why are you so smart?"

"I am lucky to be fairly naturally intelligent. But I've also worked to be ahead of the curve for a long time. I knew I wanted to go to a specialized high school in the city, and Stuyvesant catered to math and science. I made myself stand out as much as possible in my middle school so I knew I would get in with my test scores once I finally was able to take the application test."

"That's actually really impressive. What do you want to do after college?"

"You mean when we're adults?" Amethyst laughed. "I have no idea in the slightest. I'm just hoping I'll get into a good college and kind of find my niche there. What about you?"

Angela smiled at the ground. "I'd love to be able to focus more on photography, maybe photojournalism, but it's not really that great of a goal."

"Are you kidding me? It's a fantastic goal," she said, reaching out to squeeze her friend's hand. "Photojournalists, and photographers for that matter, get to travel the world and document things other people only wish they could see themselves. You should totally go for it if that's what you're really passionate about."

A silence fell between the two as Angela smiled, playing with a lock of her hair. Amethyst realized the conversation was over and sighed lightly.

"I did make you a promise and I intend to keep it."

"You told Lauren the two of you aren't a thing."

Amethyst smiled. "No, she said we weren't a thing and I told her that it wouldn't matter if he was interested in another girl if that was the case."

"And is it?"

"I'm not really sure right now."

Angela bumped their shoulders together. "I thought you were going to tell me everything."

"I will, I will," Amethyst laughed, bumping her back. "So the time you saw me kiss him was the second time we kissed. The first time, we were alone in a car when we came back from Christmas shopping in Seattle. I just was so drawn in by his eyes and his everything and I couldn't help myself. While I was in the hospital, he stayed with me for a while and we just were kind of together. Like we didn't talk or do anything, we were just there together and I knew I was crazy about him.

"In New York, I got my Christmas present from him." The girl looked down at the charms hanging just slightly above her chest. "It was the first time I really thought about him caring about me the same way. We e-mailed back and forth a few times, just kind of staying updated with each other and letting the other know the distance wasn't changing anything for either of us.

"When I got back yesterday, he came over to help me move and we kissed again. Jasper has a strong presence, but he isn't forceful with me. I do get kind of overwhelmed when we kiss, but he never makes me feel afraid or unimportant. In fact, I always feel as if his attention is entirely on me when we're near each other."

Angela waited for her friend to talk again, nudging her when she didn't. "And today?"

Amethyst grinned, a blush growing over her cheeks. "We did have our moment today, but it was quiet and nice. I suppose he's tired of all the attention and doesn't want any more than he has to get, and it doesn't bother me. I'm huge on physical contact, but you and Tyler give me plenty of that. As long as I know he's not off with some other girl, it doesn't really bother me that we don't sit together at lunch or hold hands in the hallway."

"Wow." The taller girl leaned back with a sigh. "You're dating a Cullen."

"I'm not," Amethyst immediately replied. "But why are you all awestruck by it anyway? Is Ben not enough for you?"

Angela blushed. "I don't know what you mean."

"Oh come on, everyone can see that you two are meant for each other. Why do you think all the other guys stay away?"

"Because I don't look like you."

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "You're gorgeous. You shouldn't ever compare yourself to anyone else, anyway. If you don't like your look, it is always within your power to change it. I don't think you need to, but you should always listen to yourself over anyone else around you."

"I guess I'm just a little self conscious about my height," she admitted with a sigh. "It's hard when you've been the same height or taller than most guys around you since elementary school."

"I can't say I know anything about that." Amethyst was proud to be 5'8, but that wasn't unusually tall. "But it really don't seem as if Ben cares. And none of your friends care, so you should really go for it.:

Angela sighed. "Thanks for the pep talk, but I'm still just not really sure."

Tyler suddenly plopped down between the girls, throwing an arm around both of them. "Ladies," he said, grinning at Amethyst.

She shrugged his arm off. "You stink. Don't suffocate poor Angela who's too polite to shove you off with your boy smell."

Tyler pretended to be offended a moment, but sniffed his own armpit and made a face. "This, ladies, is why we always carry deodorant," he said, reaching in and grabbing a stick out of his bag.

"Now if only you had used some before shoving your arm around us, that'd be great." The brunette rolled her eyes as Angela giggled.

The three stood up and walked toward Tyler's van, Angela insisting she could walk home. Neither of them listened to her,, Amethyst opening the back door and standing there until Angela climbed inside with a smile.

They stopped to drop off their friend first, the brunette rolling down her window when Angela climbed out. "Hey, would you want to do a movie night or a game night tomorrow? I have to surrender my weekends soon, so I think it'd be a great chance to get together."

"I'll ask," Angela said with a smile. "We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Tyler honked as he drove off. Amethyst sighed and pulled her feet up onto the passenger seat, really content with life.

"You never asked me about the movie night."

"We live together. It's mandatory for you."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "I mean you never asked me if I wanted to do it or anything like that. You didn't even check to see if I have plans."

"Do you have plans?"

"Nope."

Amethyst threw up her hands and laughed, happy that life had gotten back to normal so quickly. In fact, she thought as she reached over to shove his shoulder, it was a million times better than normal. She had her best friends by her side, a good group of people who supported her around them, a great job opportunity and a place where she could stay where she really felt safe.

Plus, Amethyst thought, she had Jasper Hale in whatever capacity he was willing to give himself to her. And that made life pretty damn good.


	22. Dare You To Move To Control Your Illness

She started her job at the library that weekend. Amethyst found that she loved returning books to shelves, as it gave her the chance to look through the books Forks had to offer, which was a surprisingly large amount.

Chloe had welcomed her with opened arms even after all the time she had wasted since her official hiring, saying that things happen and she understood that as well as anyone. Amethyst would mainly be stocking books throughout the school year, maybe working the circulation desk if someone had the day off. Then, over the summer, her job would change to full time while she helped run summer camps the library offered.

At home, everything was wonderful. Mrs. Crowley took her dietary restrictions into mind, always keeping healthier alternatives on hand for Amethyst. She and Tyler had progressed their run to a total of a mile and a half and her medicine was working well.

And then there was Jasper. The two hadn't managed to find a day outside of school when Amethyst could go over to their house and spend actual time with him, but Jasper was very good at finding a quiet moment during school for them to spend together.

That Monday Amethyst managed to talk Angela into applying for a job at the library with her, insisting they always needed part time help. The brunette was excited when her friend finally consented, encouraging her to go to work with her that evening.

And then it was Tuesday. She was standing over her Bunsen burner in chemistry, trying to stretch the cramp out of her leg without jostling any of the chemicals in her beaker. Giving up, she passed her clamps to Elizabeth, groaning when she finally dug her fingers into her aching calf.

"Land on something wrong today?"

"No, actually, just getting back into running. I pushed it a little hard a little too early by adding an extra half mile today instead of working my way up." Amethyst moaned as she pushed on the aching nerve. "I used to be a distance runner and it really bothers me that I can't run the same lengths anymore."

"Really?" Elizabeth regarded the girl through her safety goggles. "Have you thought about going out for the track team here? We could always use more distance. Conditioning starts next month."

Amethyst considered the invitation as they wrapped up their lab for that day, heading to lunch after waving at her partner. It wouldn't be a bad idea to keep training with a team, and it would look good on college applications if she kept up with her extracurriculars.

"Have you ever thought about joining the track team here?" Amethyst asked Tyler in way of greeting as they got into line.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "You don't think playing two sports is impressive enough?"

"It would help you stay in shape since track season is different from football and basketball," she argued, picking up fruit salad and a turkey wrap. "Plus you really do enjoy running."

"Ask me again when conditioning starts," Tyler said with a roll of his eyes as they headed over to their typical table where two unfamiliar faces were sitting.

"New girl, meet other new girl. Oh, and Tyler," Eric said in way of greeting as the two sat their trays down.

Amethyst threw a chunk of apple at him. "I have a name, y'know."

"What is with you and throwing fruit at people?" He had managed to lose the chunk of apple in his hair and was searching through it with a small blush on his face, making Mike laugh loudly.

"Don't mind the boys, neither of us do." Angela slid her tray down next to her brunette friend with a smile. "She's Amethyst and I'm Angela. Welcome to Forks."

Amethyst gestured toward the girl. "And that's why Angela never gets fruit thrown at her."

"I'm Bella Swan," the brown haired girl said lightly, smiling more at the table than anyone else sitting at it.

The brunette raised an eyebrow and turned to the girl sitting next to Bella. "Are you new, too?"

Tyler, Mike and Eric tried to cover their laughs with coughing as the girl looked exceptionally offended. "No, I'm Jessica Stanley."

"Sorry," Amethyst said, raising her hands in surrender. "I just don't remember ever meeting you before."

"Who are they?" Everyone followed Bella's line of sight over to the Cullens, where Alice was getting up to leave the table. She sent a wink toward Amethyst before dumping her tray, making the girl grin back.

The sound of giggling brought her back to the table. "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." Jessica talked about them under her breath, making Amethyst roll her eyes and tune their conversation out, pulling her feet up onto the chair and leaning into Tyler.

She picked at her wrap slowly, the food not looking nearly as appetizing as it had when she bought it.

"Eat," Tyler's voice came softly from near her ear. "I let you skip breakfast, but Mom would kill me if I let you miss lunch too."

Amethyst sighed, picking it up and taking a huge bite, turning to Tyler with a sarcastic smile that made him roll his eyes and jab her in the ribs.

"But don't waste your time." The brunette was drawn back into the conversation happening across the table from her. "He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him."

"If you're talking about Edward, it's not that. He just has so much going on in his head constantly and wants someone who can keep up with him." Even though the pair hadn't actually talked about Edward's dating habits, she knew him well enough to presume it was something along those lines. "He's actually a really great guy."

Jessica had an obviously fake smile on her face. "I totally forgot, you're, like, the resident Cullen expert or something."

Amethyst scrunched her eyebrows together, forcing herself not to laugh at the girl's statement. "Something like that, I suppose."

"What does she mean?" The electric blue gaze shifted over to chocolate brown.

The girl took another bite out of her wrap before replying. "I'm friends with the Cullens. They're wonderful people, and they just happen to not want to get bogged down with the drama of high school."

"That's why they're all together," Jessica explained as if she had been the one to make the statement.

"Actually they're not." Amethyst poked through her fruit salad, stabbing a piece of strawberry. "Emmett and Rosalie are the only two who are actually a couple."

The girl seemed deflated. "It's still kind of odd."

"If you looked like Rosalie or Emmett, you would be all over the other person before anyone else could claim them as well." Amethyst pushed back from the table, jolting Tyler slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your arm. See you in gym," she said, taking her tray up to dump it.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see all the Cullens were following her. "You guys are creeps," she said, slowing enough to allow her to walk beside Jasper with their hands gently brushing. "New girl got the lowdown on you today."

"Did she?" Emmett asked, a huge grin on his face. "What'd you tell her?"

"That you and Rosalie are both ridiculously gorgeous so it makes sense that you're together and that she shouldn't believe every word that comes out of Jessica Stanley's mouth." A smirk twitched up on Rosalie's mouth, breaking the blonde's relatively consistent radio silence toward her.

"Did she seem interesting? As if she was thinking a lot instead of speaking?" Edward asked, making Amethyst arch an eyebrow.

"Literally all she did was introduce herself and ask about you guys. I couldn't really draw much personality from that. Now, please excuse us." She wrapped her hand around Jasper's pulling him away from his siblings as Emmett left out a wolf whistle.

Amethyst found the nook they had been in when he grabbed her the week before, pulling the blonde in behind her.

Jasper raised an eyebrow with a smirk playing over his face. "You're feeling pretty demanding today," he said, putting his hands on her hips with just his thumbs sneaking up under her shirt.

She loved the feeling of his freezing hands on her skin. "Sometimes you've just got to take what you want." Amethyst rose up onto her toes to press her lips against his, savoring the unique flavor.

The boy chuckled when they broke away. "You're pretty good at getting exactly what you want," Jasper said, pulling her flush against him. "Come over tomorrow, after school."

"I tutor tomorrow," she murmured, busy playing with his collar.

"Then Thursday. I haven't seen you nearly enough recently."

"I second that motion." And then their lips were back against each other, savoring the final seconds they had until the bell rang.

The motions of school were relatively boring to her, as all of teachers seemed to agree they needed to be lecturing off slides. Amethyst was grateful to be heading home, wrapping her arm around Tyler's waist as they meandered toward his van. They leaned against the back door of the van under the girl's umbrella, figuring out what they wanted to do.

"We could go to Port Angeles and watch a movie," Tyler offered, holding a pack of Twizzlers out to her.

She peeled one off, shaking her head. "I'm down to lunch money until I get paid next Friday. We could always go home and watch a movie."

"But we do that like every other night. I want to do something fun."

"We can always go hang out at the library."

He bumped their shoulders. "Only you would think going to work is fun."

"The Lodge could always work. You could buy me a milkshake again."

"I'm pretty sure you don't need the sugar right now."

Amethyst sighed, hating the fact that he was right. A milkshake would probably send her blood sugar through the roof. "Why don't we go home and make dinner for your parents then? It's productive and something different from our normal routine."

Tyler nodded, bumping her shoulder. "I like the way you think, Ashford."

She laughed and shoved him away, going around to their different sides of the van. Amethyst felt something was off around her, glancing over to see Edward was just climbing into his Volvo. Amethyst stared as they sat there for a while longer, Tyler's voice breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah," she said, climbing into the van. "I just wonder if everything's okay with the Cullens." The two watched as the Volvo sped out of the parking lot, Amethyst raising an eyebrow. "I'm going to assume that means no."

Tyler shrugged as they watched the car peel down the road. "Maybe he ate something bad at lunch."

"Yeah, maybe," she murmured, staring through the light drizzle until the car as out of sight. "Oh, well. Let's go home."

The boy parked off to the side of the driveway, leaving room for both of his parents to pull in. Amethyst hopped out of the car and made her way inside, happy she had received her own key to the house.

"What do you want to make?" the girl asked, walking into the kitchen and pulling out a bottle of water for each of them, tossing one over to Tyler.

He shrugged. "Mom always cooks. I don't really know how to make much."

"Alright, then let's start with a cookbook." Amethyst looked around the kitchen. "Do you guys own any?"

"I repeat: Mom always cooks."

She laughed lightly through a sigh, rolling her eyes. "Alright. My grandma taught me how to make Shepherd's pie, but it is a lot to make."

Tyler raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you have anything better to do tonight?"

Not having a response, Amethyst got to work on the meat and vegetables while she set Tyler up to peel the potatoes. They chatted as they worked, their conversation eventually making its way to lunch that day.

"You got out of there quickly," Tyler challenged, walking over to the cutting board with his peeled potatoes.

"I think that Jessica girl might annoy me more than Lauren does," Amethyst said with a sigh, stirring the meat on the stove. "She's so presumptuous."

"She wasn't wrong, though. You really are the only one the Cullens have associated with since they moved here."

She shrugged. "Do you want me to apologize for that?"

"No, just take it easy when it comes to other girls." He pointed at her with the huge knife he was using, Amethyst eyeing it warily. "They get jealous more easily than you do."

"Then they need to grow up," she defended, pouring the meat into a pie tin and scattering vegetables over it. "It's just high school. Literally none of this will matter to anyone a year after graduation."

Tyler frowned at her. "I disagree. I'd like to think that you'll still be my best friend a year after graduation."

Amethyst paused, sighing heavily as she put the pan down. The girl walked over and wrapped her good arm around Tyler's waist, putting her cheek against his back. "I'm sorry, I don't think about things like that. I just mean all the drama and caring about who's dating who and being bothered by how much attention you get from the opposite gender."

"I know," he said, still working his way through the potatoes. "You just have a tendency to speak your mind without considering everything."

Amethyst considered his words as he broke away to put the chunks into boiling water. When he placed the lid on, he turned around to look at her and sighed.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize," she said quickly. "Never apologize for saying what you mean. I was just thinking through it."

Tyler drained the potatoes once they were cooked and took great delight in mashing them, making Amethyst laugh as she slowly added cheese to the mixture. She spread out the mixture on top of everything already in the pan and stuck it in the oven.

The two of them went over and collapsed on the couch, the two of them laying side by side on their stomachs with Amethyst's casted arm hanging off the side. She smiled when Tyler threw an arm over her, reaching up to stifle a yawn.

"Why are you so tired?" he asked through his own yawn, making the girl laugh.

"I don't know. Dr. Cullen warned me I might just get tired from time to time with no real explanation." Amethyst snuggled closer to her friend. "And you're warm and we did something fun and now I'm tired."

Tyler chuckled at her babbling, dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "You can nap. We set a timer and Mom and Dad will probably be home before it goes off anyway."

She nodded against the pillows. "Sounds good," she muttered, already halfway asleep.

A gentle shake woke her a while later, making her reach up to scrub her eyes. When she finally managed to get the sleep out of them, Amethyst squinted up at the woman standing over her.

"Welcome home, Mrs. Crowley," she muttered, tapping Tyler as well.

The woman chuckled. "The timer just went off on the food you two made. I figured you would actually want to enjoy it with us for dinner."

"That does sound like a good plan." Amethyst jabbed at the boy again, but he groaned and buried his face into the pillow.

"I'll leave waking him up to you," Mrs. Crowley laughed as she walked out of the living room. The brunette frowned, flicking Tyler's forehead.

"Quit it," he muttered, reaching up to grab her hand. "I heard you two talking."

"So let's go eat," she said, wiggling her way out from underneath his arm. "It smells really good and I won't save any for you if you don't come now."

Tyler stayed where he was. "Yes you will. S'my house."

Amethyst snorted at the boy, reaching up to yank the pillow out from underneath his head. "Come on, it's dinner time."

He finally got up and followed her into the kitchen, grumbling the entire time. Tyler pressed a kiss to his mother's cheek and clapped a hand on his father's shoulder before dropping into his chair. Amethyst traded smiles with his mother before his father began to dish out servings of the pie.

After dinner, Amethyst went to her room and finished up her calculus and government homework before cracking open her literature book. However, she only got about a chapter into _To Kill a Mockingbird_ before she was unable to hold her head up any longer and passed out straight onto her book.

Tyler shook her awake the next morning, looking slightly surprised. "Are you okay?" he asked, crouching by her bed.

"Yeah, I think I just haven't been sleeping well," she said, stretching out her sore muscles. "I'll be downstairs in ten minutes."

Amethyst couldn't even get a half a mile out before her body was exhausted, concerning Tyler. "Let's go home. You need to take your medicine," he decided, walking back beside the dragging girl.

Even with her insulin injection, she didn't feel any better, pressing her aching head against the window as Tyler drove them to school. He kept sending her worried glances, but she pointedly ignored them.

Amethyst climbed out of the van and made her way over to Angela, wrapping an arm around the taller girl's waist.

"You okay?" her friend asked, glancing down at the brunette. "You look pretty pale."

"That's what happens when you don't see sunlight for three months," Amethyst defended. She had noticed the same thing that morning and had taken extra time with her makeup to cover it as well as she could.

Angela shook her head. "No, you don't look healthy." She cupped a hand over the girl's forehead. "You're not running a fever, though."

"Let's just get through today and I'll sleep all night and be better," she said, pulling away from her friend to head toward their first class, not bothering to glance around the lot on her way in.

Alice stared at the girl when she walked into physics. "You look really rough today."

"You're only about the tenth person to tell me that," Amethyst said, dropping into her chair. "I must just be getting sick. I was really tired yesterday, too."

"No, there's something else." The small girl had her eyebrows scrunched together, but didn't say anything more when the bell rang.

The brunette could feel herself really dragging by lunch, dropping into her chair without getting any food. She tucked her head into her arms with a sigh, wondering if she could get a nap in before gym.

The sound of cardboard hitting the table made Amethyst look up, following everyone's eyes up to Jasper who was standing behind her.

He crouched down. "Alice called Carlisle and he said your blood sugar must be low. It would explain why you're so exhausted."

"And tea is your answer for that?"

"No, it's hot chocolate," he said with a small smile, but it quickly wiped off his face. "Did you not test your blood sugar once you started feeling out of character?"

Amethyst shook her head, holding the hot chocolate near her chest. "No one told me I had to."

"Amethyst, that's one of the main things about diabetes." Jasper seemed frustrated as he clenched his fists a few times. "You have to test your blood sugar. Medicine isn't enough. Anything can throw the balance off."

"I'm sorry," she said softly, taking a sip from her drink. "I'm still learning."

"I know," he replied with his tone just as soft as he reached up to touch the charms on her necklace. "I just worry."

They made eye contact for a moment, Amethyst's lips twitching up as she studied him. However, a throat clearing brought her back to reality.

"Hate to break up your moment but people are staring," Tyler muttered, nodding at Jasper.

The boy nodded back, standing up and walking away without another word. Amethyst found herself watching him go with a small sigh, wishing everyone could just mind their own business.

She took another drink of her hot chocolate and turned back to the table to see all of the members staring at her. "What?" She pulled her feet up onto her chair defensively.

Lauren was the first to speak. "Apparently the Cullens seem to have a thing for new girls. Edward freaked out at Bella yesterday."

The brown haired girl blushed. "It really wasn't like that, I was just concerned I had upset him."

Amethyst glanced over at the Cullen table for the first time, surprised to see that Edward was indeed missing from the table. Alice made a gesture of drinking at the girl who rolled her eyes with a small smile before she looked back to Bella.

"They can be like that," Amethyst said. "I thought Jasper hated me for a while."

"And then he basically just claimed you in front of the entire cafeteria," Eric butted in, wiggling his eyebrows. "That's one more Cullen off the market."

"It really wasn't anything."

Lauren snorted. "Damn straight it wasn't anything. All he did was give you a drink and poke your necklace."

"That he gave to her for Christmas."

Eric really needed to learn how to keep his mouth shut, Amethyst decided while glaring at him. "Drop it, okay? I really don't need the entire table dissecting my personal life."

The brunette sat and watched silently through the rest of lunch as Mike, Eric and Tyler seemed to be competing to tell the story that impressed Bella the most and Jessica seemed to be fixated on Mike, laughing the loudest at all of his stories. Ben and Angela were quietly having their own conversation with the tall girl turning to smile at her friend from time to time.

Amethyst did begin to feel more normal as the hot chocolate worked through her system, excited she had actually been able to have the drink again. Her mind did wonder back over to the Cullen table from time to time, wondering where Edward had gone and what exactly had happened after school the day before.

 **A/N:**

 **Sorry that all of this kind of seems like filler. This chapter was important because it shows the beginning of Twilight, obviously, and it also reveals a little more about how much Amethyst still has left to learn about caring for herself. Plus, I really enjoy writing moments about her and Jasper. I hope you all enjoy and let me know what you think!**

 **-Situation**


	23. Dare You To Move To Ask Questions

Amethyst glared angrily in the mirror at the red bump that had formed that had formed on her forehead. "Why today," she murmured, dabbing a cotton ball in alcohol and pressing it to the spot.

Tyler banged on the door. "Come on, princess. I still have to shower."

She rolled her eyes, opening the door. "Go ahead." She turned back to the mirror, pulling the cotton ball away and made a face when the mark was still there.

"Aren't you going to leave?"

"I'm having a normal teenage issue and it takes precedence over awkwardness," Amethyst replied, tapping her fingers on the sink.

"What exactly is that normal teenage issue?" Tyler apparently decided she wasn't going to change her mind and climbed into the shower, throwing his clothes over the shower rod.

She frowned deeper. "I have a giant pimple on my forehead and I'm supposed to go over to the Cullen's house today."

His laugh was loud over the running water. "I'm sure Jasper won't care if you have one pimple. He's seen you in the hospital without any makeup."

A slightly awkward pause followed his statement, but Amethyst shrugged it off.

"It still matters. I haven't seen him outside of school since the day I moved back."

"Just work your magic with makeup and bat your eyes a few times and he won't even notice. Now, get out. This is weird."

Amethyst smiled slightly, closing the door behind her. She walked back into her room wearing the tank top and jeans she had pulled on after her shower, sorting through her closet for another warm piece of clothing that would fit over her cast.

She had scheduled her checkup for the next week; hoping about six weeks would be enough time for the bones to heal correctly. Amethyst untied the trash bag from her arm and pulled on a loose grey fringed shawl, figuring that was about as good as it was going to get considering her situation.

Her makeup did take a bit longer than usual as she worked to conceal the pimple as much as possible, sighing when she got as close as she thought she would. Amethyst slowly brushed her hair out, considering the fact she needed to get it cut as the waves were relaxed by the brush. She slid her necklace on over her head and pushed her bracelet from Carlisle and Esme onto her good wrist, walking out of her room.

Tyler was pouring hot water into her tea thermos when she walked down the stairs. Amethyst grabbed two bowls and set milk on the table before walking over to the pantry.

"Cinnamon toast crunch or Mini Wheats?" she asked, pulling out a box of honey nut cheerios for herself.

"Definitely the crunch." Tyler walked over to the table and sat down as she slid the box over to him. "Did you take your medicine?"

"As soon as we got back."

"And you tested your blood sugar?"

Amethyst nodded, swallowing before she replied. "I was at 88, which is normal before a meal."

Tyler nodded happily and the two cleaned up after breakfast before heading out to his van. She crossed her legs and put the thermos in the opening before flipping down the visor to stare at her forehead in the mirror.

"You know the more you poke and prod at it, the more obvious it's going to get."

"So it is obvious," Amethyst said, turning to her friend with wide eyes.

He simply shook his head, smiling slightly. "You're going insane."

The brunette reached over to turn the radio up, hearing her favorite song playing. She hummed along as they drove through the downpour to the school.

Amethyst pushed her umbrella open when she stepped out of the van, rushing over to cover Angela who was just wearing a rain jacket.

She grinned at Bella who was standing with their group, looking miserable. "You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy."

"I'm from Arizona, not Kansas," Bella muttered, frowning slightly at the girl.

Amethyst rolled her eyes. "Thanks, I'm well aware. Just trying to lighten the mood."

The girl nodded, blushing slightly when she looked down at her feet. Amethyst huffed when Tyler nudged her, letting her know that she had been rude.

"Sorry, sarcasm is my second language." She stuck her tongue out at Tyler. "How've you been adjusting?"

"It's not been too bad," Bella said, but her eyes were wandering around the lot. "People are very kind to me."

"If you ever want someone to talk to about how horrible Forks is, neither Mike nor I are natives. This place may be home, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows." Chocolate brown eyes turned back to hers for a moment, Bella passing the girl a small smile before her eyes went back to a spot across the lot.

Amethyst turned as well, smiling at the Cullens when they piled out of Rosalie's BMW. She turned back to the group but saw Bella still staring and sighed slightly.

"Would you like me to go ask about Edward?"

"What? No." Bella spoke too quickly for her own good, making the brunette raise an eyebrow.

She sighed. "I'll be right back."

Giving Angela the umbrella, she hurried through the rain over to the flashy car, laughing when Alice grabbed her wrist and yanked her under an umbrella.

"Are you crazy?" the small girl accused, raising an eyebrow.

Amethyst smiled at them. "No, just enjoying the rain a little bit." Her eyes were light when she glanced over to Jasper, who was smiling back at her. "There's no harm with thirty seconds in the rain."

"Unless you get your cast wet or you slip and fall," Alice challenged, but Amethyst wasn't going to let her ruin her mood, sticking her tongue out at the girl.

"New girl wants to know what happened with Edward."

All four of them suddenly tensed, the smile fading off Jasper's face. The brunette raised an eyebrow at all of them, not expecting the reaction.

"He went to visit our family in Alaska," Alice finally said. "We haven't been camping in a while and it was driving Edward crazy. He said he really wanted a break from Forks."

Amethyst nodded slowly, staring at the girl. "Am I allowed to tell that to Bella? Or are you just telling me because you're so kind to me and you know I wouldn't say anything to everyone else?"

Alice made direct eye contact with her at that point. "I guess that's up to you. You control what happens. Now, have Jasper walk you to class before you get even more wet and catch a cold."

She rolled her eyes but switched umbrellas, looking up at the blonde with a small smile. "Ready to go?"

"With you? Always," he replied softly, making her smile before looking away.

The two worked their way toward her calculus class, the girl feeling her mind spinning. "Why would Alice be honest with me but not want me to tell Bella?"

"She never said that she didn't want you to tell her," Jasper said, steering them around a large puddle.

"No, but it seemed as if none of you wanted to tell me anything. Not that I don't understand the feeling, but why bother at that point?"

"Because we trust you. She was being serious when she told you that you have the choice to share information you know about us."

Amethyst pressed her lips together when they were outside of her class. "It kind of feels like a catch 22."

"Don't over think it," Jasper said, reaching out to touch her hair that was swept over her shoulder gently. "I'll see you at lunch."

She contemplated the issue throughout her morning classes, not talking to Alice after they finished up their quiz in physics. When she met up with Tyler at lunch, she told him to go ahead and get food and wandered over to the Cullen table. Amethyst pulled out the fifth chair and plopped herself down.

"Hello," Emmett said with a raised eyebrow. "How may we help you?"

"You should work at a fast food joint," she said, reaching out to grab the diet soda from Alice's tray when the sudden craving hit her. She looked at the small girl. "Am I allowed to drink this?"

Jasper snorted, shaking his head slightly. "Did you do no research after Carlisle diagnosed you?"

She shrugged, slightly abashed. "I did, but more on the actual damage happening to my kidneys than into diabetes itself."

"Well, yes, you are allowed to drink diet soda. Try to moderate it, though."

Amethyst cracked it open happily, smiling at Alice. "Thanks for sharing."

The small girl shook her head. "There really wasn't much sharing involved."

"You can still have it back."

"I'll pass." None of the rest of the food on her tray had been touched, but Amethyst didn't say anything as she took a sip.

"So. I'll ask you again. Why tell me the truth but expect me not to share it with Bella?"

"I keep telling you, I told you the truth because we trust you. You don't run around spreading rumors about us, or even telling other people information about our house or anything. You have the power to tell her anything you want and none of us will stop you."

Amethyst raised an eyebrow. "But it would break the trust."

Alice shrugged slightly. "I never said that either."

The girl stood up with a sigh, allowing her fingers to trail over Jasper's for just a moment. "Am I riding with you guys after school?"

"Yep. Meet us by the car."

"And don't be late," Rosalie added, making Amethyst raise an eyebrow but nod at the blonde.

She worked her way through the cafeteria to her friends, taking the open spot between Tyler and Angela heavily. She pulled stretched her leg out under the table, trying to relax the muscles.

"Did you hurt yourself this morning?" Tyler asked when she accidently kicked him.

Amethyst shook her head. "My leg's just not used to the strain yet. After spraining my ankle, I guess it started freaking out."

Tyler turned back to his conversation about something with Mike, but there was still a pair of eyes on her. She looked up to meet Bella's eyes which held questions in them.

"Edward's out sick," she explained, deciding it was the best path to take. "Apparently he's got strep or something and stays in his room all day."

Bella made a face. "Strep's the worst," she said, but something on her face told the girl she wasn't convinced.

Amethyst dropped the conversation, sipping at her drink instead.

"You know, you should really eat something." She rolled her eyes but grinned over at Angela.

"Don't you start parenting me, too."

The tall girl rolled her eyes with a small smile. "I think you can handle a friendly reminder on being human from time to time."

Amethyst was bored in gym class, Coach Clapp having finally run out of errands for her to do. She instead had to sit on the bleachers write an essay about the mechanics of basketball, which the class had been studying for approximately two months at that point. The girl was grateful she lived with a basketball player as she managed to write enough the coach would be happy before digging into her calculus homework, hoping to finish it before the end of the period.

The brunette walked into government just as the bell rang, having taken a detour to the bathroom. She grinned at her teacher who smiled back and shook his head.

"Glad to have you with us, Ms. Ashford. Since you were the last one in today, how about you pick the debate topic."

A small bubble of excitement rose up in the girl. She loved debate days as much as the rest of her class and having control of the topic for the first time fun.

"The Watergate scandal," she decided with a huge grin.

Mr. Brock nodded approvingly. "Any particular reason?"

"Woodward and Bernstein are the best journalists ever, and they got to uncover a scandal that led to the only president ever resigning from office. I think the politics surrounding that, and the procedure involved with the trial give people more than enough to pick apart."

"And what do you imagine the debate actually entailing?"

"The procedures of the court would be a huge focus, as well as the use of sources. The media relied heavily on anonymous sources, and former staff members released a lot of the information. While it's a good thing we uncovered it, how ethical and legal was it to use the sources they did? And to that extent, how different would things be if we never found out?"

Mr. Brock laughed as he held up a hand, with a giant smile at the girl. "Good, Amethyst. Really good. Alright, everyone has a few ideas of angles and topics, so get to work."

When she walked out at the end of the class, the brunette was rather proud of her work in class. She pressed a kiss to Tyler's cheek before huddling under Emmett's umbrella on her over to the car, as she had let Angela take hers home.

"You really do not like Nixon," Emmett said, opening the back seat for her.

Amethyst slid in behind him, moving forward to rest her chin on his chair. "It's not that I don't like him, I just love the story of uncovering the scandal. He did go too far in his actions, but I don't hate him."

The door opened and Alice and Jasper slid in beside the brunette, both of them smiling at her.

"Have you ever thought about being a journalist?"

Amethyst snorted at Emmett's comment. "My brain is entirely programmed for math and science. I never thought about going into a different field."

"Maybe you should give it a shot," Emmett said, turning when his girlfriend slid into the car and immediately began fixing her hair. "Hello to you too, Rose."

"Shut up," she murmured with a smile, but leaned over to kiss him anyway.

Amethyst sat back in her seat with a small smile on her face at the couple, turning to look at Alice. "Are you sure I don't owe you a drink?"

The smaller girl laughed. "Trust me, I don't need one. The soda was yours from the moment you laid eyes on it."

When they pulled into the Cullen's garage, Amethyst noticed the Mercedes was missing, but the Volvo was there with slightly curiosity.

"Edward took Carlisle's car." Jasper was behind her, his chest touching her back. "He said it was faster and safer."

Amethyst nodded, her eyes wandering over the different cars in the garage for a moment, noticing all the extra space. "You guys have a giant garage for not that many cars."

"Always room for expansion," he muttered, taking her hand in his gloved one. "Now, come inside. Carlisle's off work and he and Esme have been dying to see you again."

When they walked inside, Amethyst felt her eyes drawn to the piano. A map of the world created using music notes was hanging on the wall above the raised platform, and the girl smiled at the Christmas present she had purchased for him. Just for a moment, she wished he was there to play piano with her again, but was brought out of her thoughts by a hug.

"We've missed you, dear." Esme stepped back with a smile, her hands on the girl's shoulders. "It's so nice to have you here."

"It's certainly nice to be back," Amethyst said, helping Jasper as he lifted her jacket off one shoulder but had to slide the other side down her arm. She had gotten rather used to the odd way of wearing jackets, but that didn't make it any less annoying. "Thank you for having me over again."

"I meant it when I said you were welcome any time," the woman said, smiling at her fondly. "And thank you for the beautiful Christmas present. We put the glass swans up in our office so we can look at them every day."

"Your present was really amazing," she said, holding up her wrist with the bracelet. "I'd never thought of finding something like it before and it's gorgeous."

Esme's smile grew. "I'm so happy you like it. Do you need anything to drink?"

"I'm alright at the moment, but thank you."

"Just let us know if we can get you anything." The woman walked up the stairs, leaving Amethyst to turn her attention to Jasper.

She smiled at him. "Hi."

"Alice was right, you really do really suck at hellos," Jasper said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer.

The brunette felt a small blush pooling on her cheeks as she glanced around, noticing his family wasn't there anymore. "Jasper, anyone can walk in here," she whispered, giggling when he rolled his eyes.

"They won't," he said softly, leaning down to brush his lips across hers.

Amethyst shook her head, still smiling when she pushed him away softly. "So you won't kiss me in front of students but you'll make out with me in your living room where your family could walk in?"

"We weren't going to make out," Jasper challenged, leaning in for another kiss that the girl dodged. He laughed lightly, admitting defeat. "Alright. What would you like to watch?"

"We're going to watch a movie?" For some reason it surprised her that they were going to do something so normal.

He raised an eyebrow when he took her hand and led her over to the couches. "Would you rather do something else?"

"No, just a bit surprised," she admitted.

"We don't spend every day going off to Seattle or decorating for the next holiday," Jasper teased as she settled in to the couch. "We do normal things, too."

Amethyst chuckled, holding her hands up in surrender. "What do you have?"

"Try me."

She hummed slightly, tapping at her chin. "A Christmas Story."

"We literally just got past Christmas, but yes."

"Jurassic Park?"

"If that's what you're in the mood for, we have it."

"Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"

"Would you rather just come over here and look through it?"

Amethyst laughed, standing up to walk over Jasper who was standing in front of a cabinet full of movies. As she scanned through them, he reached a hand over and placed it on her lower back, mindlessly pulling her closer.

She inhaled his warm scent happily before spotting what she wanted. She reached in and grabbed the case, presenting it to Jasper happily.

"Dead Poets Society? I suppose it shouldn't surprise me," he said with a small laugh, leaving her side to put the DVD into the player.

"What, exactly, is that supposed to mean?" Amethyst challenged with a raised eyebrow and smile.

"That you have good taste, darlin'." Jasper walked back over and grabbed her hips.

She hummed quietly. "Nice cover up, darlin'." She mimicked his accent, making his lips pull back into a wide smile.

"Keep doing that and I won't care who can walk in," he challenged quietly, pressing a kiss to her forehead before taking her over to the couch.

Amethyst tucked into one corner happily while Jasper sat beside her, his arm around the back of the couch. She was quite pleased with the setup as the movie began, drawing her in from the beginning.

Somewhere around the middle of the movie, Jasper's lips became much more interesting than the movie. He had drawn himself much closer to where her body was still tucked away, one of his hands slowly tracing her calf while the other was tangled in her hair. She was busy with the collar of his shirt, playing with the opening of the button down that just barely exposed the hollow of his throat.

Amethyst waited until her lungs were about to burst before she pulled away, laughing slightly. "I thought you said we weren't going to make out," she teased, pleased to see the happiness in his eyes.

"Plans can change," he said softly, leaning down to press their lips back together.

"Okay, break it up, no one wants to see that," Alice called as she walked down the stairs, making Amethyst jump slightly. Jasper pulled away with a sigh, turning to his sister.

"Kindly butt out."

"Kindly find a room if you want privacy," Alice challenged with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, it's my turn with Amethyst. We have physics homework."

The brunette scrunched her eyebrows together. "I don't remember when I became a toy you guys had to share."

"You're the favorite toy." Alice had a tinkling laugh that made the girl laugh as well before she shrugged slightly at Jasper. The short girl danced over and pulled on her brother. "Get out."

"Alice, I'm sorry to tell you, but I finished my physics homework today during gym."

Amethyst wasn't expecting the pout that would be sent in her direction. "But I thought we agreed on working together for homework."

"Nope, never did that." The brunette laughed lightly. "I think you might've mentioned something about it when I first moved back but I don't remember ever deciding anything. Besides, did you want me just to be bored in gym?"

"No," Alice sat down with a sigh. "I just thought it might be fun."

Amethyst gently pushed Jasper away. "Well we can always do something else instead. Play a board game or something. Maybe chess?"

Jasper chuckled when Alice lit up. "You really don't want to challenge either of us to chess."

"Excuse you, I happen to play chess pretty well. My grandfather taught me," she challenged, glaring at the boy who raised his hands in surrender.

Alice grinned. "Well you said you were willing."

Four lost games later, the brunette threw her hands up into the air. "I give up! I admit it, you two are too good at chess for me."

"You almost managed to check me in that last one," Alice said encouragingly.

Amethyst snorted. "Almost managed once. Great. Thanks for that encouragement." She stretched out with a yawn, turning to Jasper. "Would you mind taking me home? It's been a few hours and I'm getting tired."

"Of course not," he said, standing before helping her off the ground as well. "I do want to go get Carlisle before we leave, he said he wanted to talk to you."

"I've already scheduled my check up," the girl said with a small tilt of her head.

"It's more about general care for your body," Jasper explained. "None of us want a repeat of yesterday."

Half an hour and a lot of information later, Amethyst followed the boy out to the silver Volvo, stopping to snag her book bag out of Rosalie's car. She climbed in as Jasper opened the garage door and pulled out silently.

"There's so much more to being sick than I realized." Amethyst stared out the window at the seemingly endless woods down their driveway.

Jasper reached a hand over to squeeze her knee. "You'll figure everything out soon enough."

She sighed and laid her head back against the seat. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean it isn't a lot to deal with now."

Jasper gently kissed her when he dropped her off, the girl going inside and greeting the family but saying she wasn't hungry and going straight to bed.


	24. Dare You To Move Away From The Van

Weekends at the library were fantastic for Amethyst. She loved the simplicity of being able to put the books and spend time at the circulation desk, making sure the status of all the books were in the correct status. She was sitting there, sorting through the system when someone approached the desk.

"How may I help you?" Amethyst pulled away from the computer to smile at the person, surprised when she recognized her. "Bella?"

"Hi, Amethyst. I didn't know you worked here."

"Yeah, I started just before you moved here. Is there anything I can help you find?"

The girl shook her head, looking around the library in distaste. "No thanks, I don't think there's really much here for me."

"You might be surprised." Amethyst wasn't going to get annoyed with the girl, especially not at work. "There's entire sections of classics and teenage romance novels if you're interested."

"I walked through and didn't really find much. I just saw you on my way out and wanted to ask you about lunch on Thursday."

"Okay?"

Bella leaned forward on the desk. "Is Edward really at home with strep?"

"That's what I know," she said coolly. "Why would I bother lying?"

The girl sighed and stood up. "I don't know. There was just something so odd about the way he was acting and I wanted to make sure it wasn't something else."

"I'm sorry I can't help you more. Are you sure there's nothing here?"

"No, I'm fine. I'll see you Monday," Bella said, turning to walk out of the library.

Amethyst sighed and put her head into her hands for a moment, wishing Bella would just move back to Phoenix. Edward had left town because of the girl, she was almost sure, and she was really concerned about the whole situation.

"Everything okay?" Chloe asked, walking out from her office.

She spun in the chair to smile at her boss. "Yup, just saw a friend from school. What would you like me to do next?"

The woman smiled at her. "Would you mind going and reorganizing the children's section? Kids aren't great at the Dewey decimal system."

"No problem," the brunette said, leaving the desk to Chloe so she could go organize.

That Monday, Amethyst and Tyler ran two and a half miles though the overnight snow, both of them bent over and panting when they reached the front yard. He held out a fist to her which she tapped, grinning despite her heaving chest.

"Be careful on your way to school today," Mrs. Crowley called. The snow will probably make the roads slick.

Tyler and Amethyst drove separately on Mondays and Fridays so she could head to work after school. She followed him most of the way down the interstate, only losing him when a car cut her off right before the school exit, making her lay on her horn.

Amethyst happily noticed there was a silver Volvo parked in the lot when she finally pulled her car into a spot. She jumped out and made her way over to the Cullens, smiling at them the entire time.

"Welcome back, Edward," she said, reaching out to touch his arm gently. "I'm glad you're here."

He smiled at the girl slightly, his eyes focusing in the distance a moment later. "I should go inside," Edward said, walking away from them with Alice trailing behind him worriedly.

Amethyst frowned slightly as she watched them go, turning around to see a concerned look on everyone's faces. Jasper, however, looked slightly smug. She raised an eyebrow at him until he reached out and gently traced her cheekbone. "Good morning," he greeted.

"Is it?"

"Don't worry about a thing," he said softly. "We've got everything under control."

"But what do you need to have under control?"

"You ask too many questions." Jasper and Amethyst turned in surprise to Rosalie who looked rather annoyed. "Can't you just be happy that you're getting everything you want without considering anyone else?"

"I don't know what you think you're on about, but I'm not exactly living a fairytale." Amethyst was not going to let the blonde push her around.

"Right, because things are so difficult for you." Emmett reached over and smacked Rosalie's arm and she immediately smacked him back.

The brunette shook her head, a small smile on her face. "I guess you guys can all have a good day, then. I don't need to be somewhere I'm not wanted."

"Just ignore Rosalie," Jasper said softly, reaching out to touch her arm.

Amethyst pulled away from him with a tight smile. "Don't worry about it. I'll see you guys at lunch."

As she walked back over to her friends, she heard the rattling that indicated Bella's truck was getting closer. Amethyst again wondered if Edward had been avoid the girl as she watched the truck pull into the lot, rolling her eyes slightly.

At lunch, Amethyst was surprised she reached her table before the Cullens came in. She watched as the five of them walked in together, Jasper seemingly guiding Alice by her elbow. She was getting really concerned about them as they sat down at their table, seeming as if they were on the edge of their seats other than Edward, who looked plain annoyed.

"You need to eat," Tyler said, his voice bringing her back into reality. "You've been hit and miss with your meals and it doesn't make me or your body happy."

Amethyst sighed, looking at her hamburger. It wasn't the healthiest lunch, but it had sounded good when she purchased it only moments ago. She went to take a bite, nearly jumping out of her skin when there was a loud crack not too far from her.

All heads spun toward the ice chunk that had managed to crack one of the bricks and Amethyst felt her jaw drop slightly. Everyone began looking around for it and Amethyst felt her eyes drawn over to the Cullen table. They were also looking at the ice, Emmett seemingly amused by it, but no other reaction was visible on their faces. She turned back to her burger and made an angry face at it, wishing there was an easier way to get nutrients than forcing food into her protesting stomach.

Bella, Mike and Jessica sat down at the table at the same time, and Amethyst pressed her lips together at them in greeting. She picked at her burger, looking up to notice Bella was staring across the cafeteria. She looked in time to see Emmett shaking his head, spraying ice and water all over his siblings. Alice hid behind her tray as the group laughed, but the situation just seemed so off to the girl.

"What are you two staring at?" Jessica's voice was obnoxious. Amethyst didn't bother to respond to it, finally picking up her burger and taking a bite.

She tried to ignore the conversations happening around the table, but heard the same voice very clearly. "The Cullens don't like anybody. Well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them."

Amethyst stood up and walked away from the table, incredibly annoyed with Jessica's ignorance. The girl was almost as bad as Lauren with all of their assumptions and accusations. She heard people follow her, but really wish they hadn't.

"Amethyst, you can't walk out on lunch every day," Angela called once they were in the hallway.

Tyler grabbed her arm and yanked it back, forcing her to turn around. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What the hell is wrong with everyone?" she shouted back.

"What are you talking about?"

"Why can't Jessica and Lauren just leave well enough alone and drop everything about the Cullens and why is Edward suddenly the most anxious out of the family and why can't Bella just move back to Phoenix?" Amethyst collapsed back against the lockers, surprising herself when she found tears on her face. "Why did my parents hate me?" she whispered.

Angela slid down next to the girl while Tyler stared at her in shock. The taller girl reached out to tuck some brunette hair behind her ear. "Don't go being malicious to people. Your kind heart is what kept you sane when your parents were being horrible humans. There was something wrong with them, and you'll get to face them as the strong person you are when you face the trial. In the meantime, you can't keep being so polar. One minute you're the sweetest person on the planet and the next you're telling Jessica off for not knowing any better than what they're saying."

The three sat there in silence for a moment, Amethyst crying into her jeans.

"Have you tested your blood sugar today?"

"Only after our run this morning," she murmured into her jeans.

Tyler crouched down. "You need to test it again, okay? If you need sugar we need to get you back into the cafeteria and have you finish your food."

Amethyst pulled the gadget out of her bag, using a safety pin she carried specifically for that purpose to prick her finger. As they waited for her results, the girl sighed. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to tell us that," Angela said softly, wrapping her arm around her friend and rubbing her shoulders. "You do need to apologize to the table, though. You've shoved it twice now."

The brunette lightly as they heard a beeping and looked down at her test results. "I'm pretty sure 50 is way under healthy," she murmured, staring at her screen in concern.

"Uh, yeah. You're going to go back and eat." Tyler stood up before helping both girls up and leading them back into the cafeteria.

Amethyst walked back over to the table, sighing when the group was staring at her when she sat down. "I'm sorry," she said. "I guess I haven't been handling things well and let them build up and explode toward my friends instead of handling them healthily." She smiled when Tyler put a soda down in front of her.

"Don't worry about it," Ben chimed in first. "We've all been through some rough times and everyone needs some time to adjust."

She smiled gratefully at him, taking a sip from her soda.

"What happened?" Bella asked timidly, everyone turning to look at her.

Out of everyone at the table, Amethyst made eye contact with Lauren first. "A lot," she finally said, a smile pulling at the side of her mouth. "But I'm dealing with it."

Lauren rolled her eyes and looked back at her food, but the brunette knew it wasn't angrily. She picked up her burger and took a bite, surprised when it tasted much better than it had before.

When she was out running errands for Coach Clapp, she was unsurprised to see Jasper waiting for her in their nook.

Jasper pushed her hair back from her face, frowning when she wouldn't meet his eyes. "Darlin', what's going on?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't play games with me." Amethyst hated how soft his voice was when he grew frustrated with her, as it showed he had much better control over his emotions than she did. "You're in an awful mood."

She sighed, leaning up to kiss him gently once, but he didn't let her use that as a distraction for long before he looked at her expectantly. "I suppose I just let everything build up for too long. I never really processed what happened with my parents. And then Rosalie and Jessica and Lauren just all knew how to get under my skin and I always wanted to seem as if it didn't matter. I guess I just blew up at lunch."

"And it had nothing to do with us?" he probed.

"I was concerned about everything that's going on with Edward and I was angry at Bella for whatever her involvement is with it. Angela reminded me I can't hate people without a reason." Amethyst played with one of the buttons on his shirt, giving her something to focus on that wasn't his gaze.

Jasper stiffened slightly. "I told you not to worry about it."

"I'm sorry for being human and worrying."

He sighed, brining her lips back up to his. The kiss wasn't as intense as it normally was between the two of them, so Amethyst pulled away early.

"I should go back to class," she whispered.

"Don't, not yet." Jasper pulled her closer by wrapping his arms around her waist. "I don't want you to walk away angry at me."

She traced her good hand up his arm slowly. "I'm not angry. I really don't want you to think that. I'm just not sure how to deal with everything right now."

"Come over tomorrow. We can talk everything though with Carlisle or Esme there if you'd like They're both fantastic with difficult issues."

"Really?" Amethyst said softly, looking up at the boy. "It's kind of a lot to sort through."

"We'll figure it out," Jasper said softly.

When she leaned up to kiss him that time, she didn't pull away for quite a while.

The girl hummed her way through work at the library that night, surprised by the fact the two hour shifts felt too short to her. She always wanted to stay longer, do a little bit more, but it would put her over the amount of hours she was allowed to work in the week.

The snow on the ground made Amethyst slightly anxious on her drive, reminding her of the crash. She drove slowly enough it people around her blared their horns on the interstate, but she was happy to be home safely.

She spent her night with Tyler in his room, laying with her head on his chest while they talked. Amethyst talked for a little while about all the things that were on her mind, but she knew the boy wouldn't really know how to help, so they ended up talking aimlessly about the world.

"I think I should ask Bella to the prom."

Amethyst turned her head so she could stare at him. "Isn't it a little early to be thinking about prom?"

"It's never too early," he said, poking her side and making her squeal. "Besides, not all of us have someone we're sure will go with us."

"If you mean Jasper, we don't exactly do things in public, in case you haven't noticed."

"But you should see the way he looks at you. He's not going to be asking anyone else."

Amethyst shoved her face into his chest to hide her blush. "Who cared about prom anyway?"

"Normal teenagers," Tyler teased, jabbing her ribs again. "Now let's go get dinner."

They had pizza and salad for dinner that night, and the two teenagers set up camp in the living room to crank out their homework. Amethyst finished the bit of work she had left before leaning over to help Tyler work through his.

She ended up falling asleep before he finished up his work with her head on his shoulder. Amethyst woke up long enough to realize Tyler was tucking her into her own bed before falling back into a deep sleep.

The next day, she felt much better. The brunette was up and dressed before she went to wake Tyler. When he waved her off, she dropped a kiss onto his head and went outside, figuring he deserved the day off.

Amethyst stretched out in the driveway, her breath fogging in front of her. She stared at the ice that had formed warily, but deciding it would be worth it to run anyway.

Cold air was incredibly refreshing for the girl as she felt it pierce her lungs. Running made her feel powerful, and the chill woke her up and pressed her to keep running further and further, turning around after running half a mile out. A giddy, happy feeling rushed through her as she managed to run most of the way back, only feeling herself drop to a jog once the Crowley house was in sight.

Amethyst ran inside to stretch back out, noticing the parents were gone for work. Mrs. Crowley worked weekends as well, but also worked Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday as a receptionist for a car dealership. Mr., Crowley was an accountant who kept normal hours, so she rarely ran into the two of them unless it was for dinner. She took her shoes off on a mat in the doorway before laying down in the living room with a deep sigh.

After twisting all the kinks out of her body, the brunette went upstairs and hopped in the shower. Tyler's door was closed, so she assumed he was getting dressed as she took her time to warm her skin back up, minus the arm she had covered in a trash bag.

Amethyst pulled on her tank and leggings before leaving the bathroom. Tyler's door was still closed which made a frown pull on her lips, but she went into her room to finish getting dressed. She had brush her hair out before getting frustrated with the door, going over and banging on it.

"Tyler, everything okay?" Not getting a response made the brunette raise an eyebrow. "Tyler?" she asked again, pausing for a moment. When she pushed the door open, the boy was still sound asleep in his bed. Amethyst went over and shoved him harshly.

Tyler jumped as the shove pushed him almost to the end of the bed, quickly waking up. "What? I thought you were just going to run without me," he murmured, putting his face back in the pillow.

"Yeah, I did and now we have half an hour before school that takes us 15 minutes to drive to on a good day."

Tyler shot out of bed in surprise, pushing past the girl to the bathroom. She sighed when she heard the water running, going back to do her makeup. He was back out of the shower before she finished, running back into his room with a towel around his waist and a toothbrush in his mouth.

Amethyst waited in the van for him, preferring to run late to school than to have to drive herself in the miserable conditions. She nibbled on a granola bar as she watched Tyler rush outside, pulling his jacket on as he locked the door behind him.

When he climbed in the van, he turned to glare at the girl. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"I got back from my run and thought you had already showered," she said calmly, dropping her extra water bottle into his cup holder. "Why didn't you set an alarm?"

"I don't normally need one," Tyler murmured, cranking the heat as he drove along on the interstate at a much lower speed than usual.

She sighed, annoyed that she couldn't wear a watch with her cast. "I know it's rough outside but you might want to hurry if we're going to make it so school in time."

He groaned but drove a faster, hitting close to the speed limit. The boy kept his speed as they got off the interstate and turned into Forks High School, Amethyst sighing in relief when she saw there were students left in the lot.

Her relief literally lasted less than an instant as suddenly they were spinning and Amethyst was screaming as Tyler applied the brakes, yelling in panic as well.

"Bella!" The girl screamed, realizing exactly where the van was heading before she cracked her head on the window, crying out in pain. The first impact against the truck sent both of them flying forward, their seatbelts locking and Amethyst's head jerking wildly forward. But they were still spinning, and the girl felt vomit building up inside her.

The van crashed into something for a second time, and Amethyst cried out as she smacked her head again. Her entire world seemed off balance for the slightest moment, rocking one more time before it dropped to the ground.

All of the glass shattered around Amethyst and she screamed, half stuff between reality and the previous night she had been covered in shattered glass. She began hyper ventilating, the urge to vomit only suppressed by the small amount in her stomach. Tears pouring down her face and terrifying memories and the running blood she could feel all combined to make her bend over and empty her stomach of what little was in there anyway.

People were shouting all around her, but she couldn't focus. There was a hand, Tyler's hand, trying to make her focus, trying to get her to respond but Amethyst was stuck in her panic, forced to relive the two crashes over and over again simultaneously in her mind.

And then cold hands were on her. "Amethyst, I need you to look at me." Above all the panic and the shouting and the sirens, there was his voice. "Amethyst, you're having a panic attack and you need to calm down to the paramedics can move you. They're getting Tyler out now and will come for you next."

She was gasping for air, dry heaving as panic swept over her once more before there was an intense, calm feeling. Amethyst glanced up, meeting Jasper's panicked eyes.

"You're going to be okay," he promised quietly. "I have to go so the paramedics can help you, okay? Promise me you won't panic when I go away."

"Promise," she gasped out. "Sorry."

Jasper made her look at him. "You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for, do you hear me? They're going to take you to the hospital and I'll see you there."

 **A/N:**

 **A lot of you are talking in reviews about when Amethyst will find out when the Cullen's are vampires. I don't think it's a normal assumption for people to believe those around them are from the supernatural world, so I have something planned for the way she finds out. Please, bear with me for the time being. Some time skips are about to happen, a few of them more extended than others.**

 **Thank you all so much for your very kind words and messages. I always look forward to hearing from you guys.**

 **-Situation**


	25. Dare You To Move On The Couch

She hated the hospital. Forks Hospital was a perfectly good one, all things considered, but she was miserable to be back there. She had been poked and prodded and taped up and she just wanted to leave. Amethyst refused to look down at her body, knowing all the little cuts would scar over her marks that were already there, but she didn't want to acknowledge it.

She had to share her room with Tyler and Bella, listening as the boy apologized over and over again while Bella did everything in her power to get him to be quiet, eventually going to sleep to try and shut the boy up. Amethyst rolled onto her side and pulled her legs up to her chest, heaving a sigh partially in annoyance and partially in defeat.

After all of them went through scans and were appropriately prodded, Edward was the first non-medical official to join them in the room.

"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry-" Tyler was the first to speak, repeating the same thing he had been all morning, but he was cut off when Edward raised a hand.

"No blood, no foul." Amethyst snorted slightly, pulling the hospital blankets up tighter around her body. "And how are you, princess?"

She glared over at the boy who smiled and shook his head at her. "I'm wonderful," she murmured, laying her head back down when it ached a bit. He glazed over her quickly, though, going to talk to Bella. Amethyst wondered again what his obsession was with the girl, making a motion to roll her eyes but quickly stopping when it made her head ache more.

Edward was focused entirely on the other girl until Carlisle walked in, going straight to Bella and dismissing her first. Amethyst listened with heavy eyes as he moved onto Tyler, going through all of the boy's injuries.

"You should know better than to fall asleep with a head injury."

The brunette opened her eyes in surprise to see Jasper sitting on the floor near her bed. She mindlessly reached out a hand for him which he took, gently tracing lines into her palms.

"I don't have an injury. I'm fine."

Jasper snorted. "I know you're tired of being in the hospital, but you can't deny yourself treatment."

She sighed. "Do we have to call my grandparents?"

"Yes, darlin'. They are your legal guardians and do have to know when you're admitted to the hospital."

"I wasn't technically admitted," Amethyst said, but she knew her argument was weak.

Carlisle turned his attention to them at that point. "You might have to be though, dear. You hit your head a few times in the same spot and broke the skin there, and your scans show signs of whiplash. We also have to perform another examination on your arm to check and see if there was more damage done, so at the very least we're going to remove your cast. Combine that with the instability going on inside of you, and there's quite a mess."

She didn't roll over to address him. "Can't I go home anyway?"

"I'm afraid not. We're going to keep you for today for observations, and depending on how your tests go at the end of the day, we'll made a decision about keeping you overnight. We have to take the possibility of diabetic shock into consideration with you as well, something your roommates were lucky enough to not have to face."

"I wish it was possible to hate you, Carlisle."

The man chuckled, moving to put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Call if you need anything. Jasper is going to keep you from sleeping, okay?"

Amethyst nodded in acknowledgement, but the movement made her groan.

The boy holding her hand raised an eyebrow. "Don't have an injury, huh?"

She hushed him before scooting over on his bed and making room for him. Jasper climbed in much more willingly that time, settling in so they were looking at each other. Carlisle had drawn the curtain between Tyler and them, giving the two a semblance of privacy.

"So Edward saved Bella," she muttered quietly to Jasper, as that was the only information she felt she had actually retained while in the hospital.

He rolled his eyes. "I suppose so."

"Are those two infatuated with each other or something? Like he disappears the moment she comes to town and then he saves her the day after he comes back. He doesn't seem like the Edward I remember."

"I guess." Jasper reached out a push a lock of hair behind her ear. "I have no idea what goes on in his head most of the time."

Amethyst sighed, grabbing his hand and putting it over her bandaged head. "I don't know why you're always so freezing but I don't think I've ever appreciated it more than right now."

"How many times do I have to tell you I have bad circulation?"

She was surprised to hear the frustration in his voice, pulling her eyebrows together when they made eye contact. "I didn't realize it was a sensitive topic."

"It's not. But I should go."

"Carlisle said your job was to keep me awake. You can't leave."

Jasper sighed deeply, pulling his hand away from the girl. "I need you to listen to me carefully."

"Are you sure it's really the time to be having a serious conversation?" Her eyes quickly glanced over to the curtain. "It's kind of a public area."

"We have to stop doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Whatever it is we've been doing." More than just taking his hand away, the girl could feel him pulling his emotions back as well. "It can't keep happening."

Amethyst pressed her lips together, staring at him. She wished Jasper was an open book. He had a tendency to be able to hide anything he was feeling and he always seemed to know how to dart her questions.

"Is it because of Bella?"

Jasper's golden eyes made her feel as if she was going through the x-ray machine all over again. "Can't you just take things at face value?"

"I do a lot of that with you. I didn't ask why your eyes were pitch black the first night I kissed you. I didn't ask how your family knew what was going on inside my house because I'm damn sure I didn't leave a bag in the Volvo. I've dropped the fact that you won't explain your freezing temperature over and over again, and I lied to Bella for you about the half truth you guys told me. If that isn't taking things at face value, despite what you or Rosalie say, I don't know what is." If she could cross her arms, Amethyst would have at that moment. She settled for glaring at him as intently as she was able, hoping it made her point.

The boy climbed out of her bed, quickly walking to the door and slamming it behind him without saying another word. She stared at the door, not sure she actually processed what just happened.

"Are you okay?" The voice came through the curtain, reminding Amethyst she had raised her voice a little too loud.

She sighed, rolling over to face the curtain. "Is now really the time for girl talk, Tyler?"

"It's never the wrong time for girl talk."

"I think I'd rather just not talk at all right now."

Tyler didn't reply as the girl shoved her face into her pillow. Amethyst didn't cry as she thought through exactly what had just happened with Jasper. There was something going on with the Cullens, which she had always known, and Bella's presence had thrown something off. Whatever happiness she had found in Jasper was taken away because of the mess, and it left a dull ache in her stomach. Deciding it didn't matter anymore, she shoved the thoughts of the Cullens out of her mind as much as possible and tried to push the ache away, focusing on the sound of daytime television that was playing across the room.

Mrs. Crowley came a few hours later, fussing over both of them. Carlisle officially discharged Tyler with a minor head injury and a few scratches from the shattered glass, but he said the boy would be fine. The woman promised Amethyst she would be back with clothes and entertainment as she helped Tyler out of the room, the brunette sticking her tongue out at him because he was able to go home.

Angela came in as soon as school was out, a panicked look on her face. "We were concerned you were dying or something," she said, hugging the girl as delicately as possible. "I've never seen anyone have as dramatic of a reaction as Jasper did when he went over to the van. He looked like he was ready to puke."

"He ended things with me," Amethyst said softly, making room for the girl on the bed. "But I actually did vomit. It wasn't pretty."

"Do you want to go back to that first statement?"

"Not really," she said, playing with her friend's fingers. "I'd rather let you pull my fingernails off one by one or go through an OBGYN exam in public."

Angela snorted. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm not happy but it isn't going to end my world, especially when he walked out without much of an explanation."

"Alright. Would you rather hear about how none of the teachers actually managed to get through a lecture because everyone couldn't shut up all day?"

"More rumors? People can't seem to get me out of their minds," Amethyst murmured, stifling a yawn.

Angela shook her shoulder slightly, narrowing her eyes at the girl. "I did get a call back from the library today."

"Did you? And?"

"I get to go in for my interview next week."

The two girls chatted until Mrs. Crowley came back with some clean clothes for when the brunette was finally going to be discharged and left some books, just in case it took a while longer. She also made Amethyst call her grandparents, who found herself talking them out of flying out to check on her.

"You'll be here in almost a month for my birthday and the trial. I love you guys very much, but we can also handle things here. I promise you don't have to fly out here every time something happens."

"We're just concerned, doll." Her grandmother seemed understanding but rather unhappy. "We love you very much. Call us when they discharge you."

"Yes, ma'am. I love you both."

Angela left when Carlisle came back in, telling her they were going to work on her arm. She avoided catching his eyes and he didn't seem be particularly keen on paying more attention to her than necessary. He cut through the plaster on her arm and Amethyst felt slightly disgusted at the mess that was revealed.

"Alright, Amethyst. If your x-rays come back pretty well, we're just going to give you two braces for your arm."

"And if they don't?"

Carlisle pressed his lips together into the semblance of a smile. "The cast didn't seem to inhibit your life too badly."

Amethyst groaned but waited for her scans to come back, doing everything in her power to not stare at the wrinkly mess that was left of her arm. When Carlisle walked back in he was smiling.

"Congratulations, dear. It seems as if you get to move on to braces and a bit of physical therapy to repair your arm. Thankfully, the break was not in your dominant arm, so it should only take about a month to get you back to where you were before."

She exhaled heavily, grateful for the news. "Thank you, Carlisle."

"We'll get everything set up for you around your schedule, and you can always check in with me if you have any questions."

"Do you want me to find another doctor?"

The blonde man seemed surprised. "I'm sorry?"

Amethyst shook her head slightly, look down at her feet. "I know you provide great treatment and are wonderful with your patients, but it's weird and we both know it. I can always be assigned a different doctor."

"Regardless of what happens around us, I am happy to continue treating you. I've been the one to handle your treatments so far here in Forks and will be happy to help you through rehab and any struggles that might come from your diabetes. It doesn't matter what our relationship is outside of this place." Carlisle gently patted her good hand before turning to leave the room. "Your nurse will be back soon to help you with your casts while you apply them for the first time. Let me know if you need anything else."

Amethyst considered his statements while learning to wrap up her arm in a way that would help it continue to heal. The same nurse came back a few hours later to let her know her blood sugar wasn't out of control but she would need to eat as soon as she got home. The woman also checked on her head, finally declaring the girl was responsive enough to head home.

She waited in the lobby for Mrs. Crowley to come back to the hospital for the third time that day, picking at her lower brace that went almost from her elbow to her wrist. Amethyst stilled her hands, thinking about the cold hands that would have laid over hers with a small smile. She brushed the thought away as quickly as it came, heading out to the car that pulled up.

"You and Tyler are going to stay in the living room tonight," Mrs. Crowley informed her as she carefully accelerated down the highway. "Neither of you should be sleeping, so we're hoping the two of you will keep each other up, but we will come down and check on you every few hours. You both have doctors notes for today and tomorrow if necessary, but we'll figure out out in the morning."

"Thank you for all of this," Amethyst murmured. "You all have been so very kind to me."

A hand gently rubbed her knee, and electric blue eyes wandered up to the driving woman. "You're pretty much family, dear. It's nothing."

The brunette sat on the couch later that evening, a regular soda in front of her feet that were crossed on the table while her head rested on Tyler's shoulder. He slowly twisted one of her loose hairs around his finger as they watched a documentary that had something to do with paper clips, but she couldn't really focus on it as there were too many thoughts rushing through her mind.

"I'm sorry," Amethyst said when the documentary went to commercial.

"Why?"

She sighed. "Today was my fault."

"Really? You can make it snow and then freeze overnight?" She rolled her eyes at Tyler's sarcasm. "Although, with your cold heart, it wouldn't surprise me."

He laughed when she jabbed at his side, which pulled a laugh out of her as well. "No, I mean I didn't wake you up in time and I rushed you and encouraged you to drive faster and that's pretty much all my fault."

"Amethyst, you can't control the world." Tyler leaned over to press a kiss on top of her head. "You didn't know that ice patch would be there. It's my fault, if anything. I should have been running with you this morning and very easily could have set an alarm or handled my speed better. It is not in the slightest your fault."

They sat in silence for a little while before Amethyst found the nerve to speak again. "My parents blamed me for that night, in New York. They said I shouldn't have been working late and my dad shouldn't have had to come get me. It was a very similar situation, because we hit ice and lost control and the windows shattered out. I'm just glad nothing really horrible happened to anyone today."

Tyler pulled her closer, moving his arm down to her waist as she adjusted more comfortably onto his chest. The two watched another few movies before the television switched over to infomercials. They spent their time debating the usefulness of the gadgets and coming up with their own ridiculous ideas for ways to improve them.

"What if the vibrating hairbrush also had a heated curl to it? Like you spin it through your hair and the vibration works on the tangles but there's some heat or something that comes from inside of it? Just bam, an all in one tool." The two had shifted at some point during the night so Amethyst was laying between Tyler and the back of the couch with her head on his chest and their legs twisted together.

"I would rather have it brush the grease out of your hair," he decided. "I want it to be an alternative to shampoo."

Amethyst nodded approvingly. "I'd buy that."

"Well you two are just adorable."

The pair glanced up to see Mrs. Crowley standing in the entrance to the living room, smiling at them. She walked over and put two bottles of water and some headache medicine on the table. "I want you both to stay home today. You guys can sleep here before too long, but only for two hours at a time, so take turns and look after each other. You're welcome to invite some of your friends over after school to keep you entertained, and call me if anything gets really bad." She pressed a kiss to Tyler's forehead and smoothed Amethyst's hair back before heading off to work.

"I like your mom," the girl murmured, putting her had back on his chest.

"She's pretty cool." Tyler rubbed her back gently, reaching for the remote with his other hand.

When he couldn't reach it, the girl laughed and pushed herself far enough to snag it off the table. She placed it in his hand before watching him flick through channels.

"Is our relationship weird to you?"

"Nope."

Amethyst raised an eyebrow at him, turning so her chin was on his chest. "You really don't think there's anything weird about the amount of contact we make regularly."

"Did someone tell you there was?"

"No, I was just wondering. It may seem weird to people."

Tyler shrugged, jostling her head. "Does it matter how things appear to other people? And besides, anyone can cuddle with friends. There's nothing saying that contact means you have to be in a relationship with someone. Would you think it was odd if you were like this with Angela?"

She smiled slightly, settling back into her spot as they watched the classic cartoons that ran in early mornings.

When they went back to school the next day, Tyler was all over Bella, constantly apologizing to her to the point where it made her seem uncomfortable. Amethyst and Angela rolled their eyes as the boys seemed to have growing tension between them over the girl, chatting about almost anything else.

Amethyst realized how many people around the school knew her as they were constantly coming up to ask about the crash, her puking and Jasper's reaction. She mainly ignored them, only answering the people who she actually recognized from one of her classes.

Their lives fell into an even more regular pattern. Amethyst still spent the weekend, Monday and Friday at the library and tutored after school Wednesdays. Physical therapy lasted for three hours after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Because Tyler's van was out of commission, she drove him to and from school, causing some tension between the two when their schedules would fall out of sync.

Basketball season was coming to an end, and Tyler had agreed to go to track conditioning that would start in the middle of February. They got up to three miles total in the mornings and were working on cutting the time down from half an hour. Amethyst loved the fact she was able to run a decent distance again, sometimes stretching the run to five miles over weekends.

In her quiet moments when she would sit down to do homework, she wished Alice was there to bug her about doing their physics together. She missed picking at the piano with Edward and his annoyance when she would accidently slam her hand on the keys the wrong way. Both the small girl and Emmett had moved away from Amethyst during the classes they had together, but she refused to let it show the movement affected her as much as it did. Most of all, she missed a gentle golden gaze and stolen kisses in the hallway, but Amethyst certainly wouldn't ever admit to that.


	26. Dare You To Move To Court

Amethyst smoothed out her pencil skirt as she stared into her full length mirror, sighing in frustration that her shirt wouldn't stay tucked. She shoved her hand down the front of it against, trying to make the silk material lay flat on her body.

Giving up, the girl turned back to her room to try and find another distraction. Her birthday had been the previous, which helped fill her walls significantly. Angela and Tyler had purchased her posters of skylines of major cities in the U.S. It started with D.C., then New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Houston, San Francisco and finally Seattle. They helped her hang New York and Seattle over her bed before organizing the rest from east to west. The three had laid on her bed after hanging them, making plans to go to each city and what they would do there.

Her other friends had given her books and small things, which Amethyst laid around her room among her growing collection of photographs. Images of her and Tyler were the most predominant, as they had images from all around the house and after their runs. Angela had started at the library as well, so there were images of them there together alongside ones from their after school adventures around Forks. Mike, Eric, Ben, Bella, Jessica and even Lauren appeared in some of the others, making her room finally feel as if it was a home.

Amethyst's grandparents had come out at the beginning of the previous week. They took her, Tyler and Angela out to eat at the Space Needle, an image the brunette still needed to add to her collection. They had been staying in her parents' house and coming over almost every day after school, doting on the girl who had just turned 17.

Tyler knocked on the door and broke her thoughts, walking in wearing a white button down and black slacks. However, the tie he was carrying had a laughingly large knot in it, and he stared at Amethyst desperately.

"Help."

She laughed when she took it out of his hands, slowly working through the knot. Her arm had improved greatly with her physical therapy, with her specialist telling her she should be able to go without them in a week or two. The extra mobility over the cast was something Amethyst appreciated, especially as she picked at the knot Tyler had created.

"How did you even manage this?" she asked, unwinding a part where the tie overlapped three times.

He shrugged slightly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I'm nervous."

She laughed, wrapping the material around her neck to quickly make a knot in it. "You're nervous? I have to face my parents for the first time since I put them in jail. I'm pretty sure you don't have anything to be nervous about." Amethyst pulled the tie off, sliding it over Tyler's head instead.

The boy walked to the mirror to straighten it. "But we're all going to see how this plays out for the first time. If your parents aren't convicted, you can't stay with us anymore." He refused eye contact with her, instead staring at his dark blue tie.

"Have a little faith in my grandfather. He may be prosecuting his own son, but we went over my case a million times in New York, and he's been a prosecutor there for more than 30 years. I trust him," the brunette said simply, walking over to grab her brush. She ran it through the waves one more time before twisting her locks up to a ballerina bun. Amethyst's grandfather had told her time and time again, not too much makeup in court, a professional hairdo and nice clothing. It didn't matter that the case would only be heard in front of a judge, he would still be influenced by her appearance. "Will you hand me my nude heels?"

"I'm not going anywhere near your shoes. I don't know the difference," Tyler said, putting his hands up as he walked away from her closet. She smiled and laughed quietly, walking over to grab her favorite pair of heels herself.

Before she left her room, Amethyst stared at the jewelry the Cullens had given her for Christmas. She had stopped wearing both pieces after Jasper had walked away from her. Knowing that Carlisle would be at the trial to testify, she made herself walk past them and out her door.

Her grandparents were waiting in the living room, both dressed in their normal court attire. Mrs. Crowley was also waiting with Tyler and Angela, who had been given the day off school to attend the trial. The last day of February raged outside the windows, making Amethyst grateful she wouldn't have to walk between the buildings in the biting wind.

"Are you ready, doll?" Her grandmother was the first to realize she was in the room, smiling at her.

Amethyst nodded, forcing a small smile onto her lips. "As ready as I'm going to be."

The older woman scanned her outfit, her gentle green eyes narrowing slightly. "Do you have any jewelry you wanted to wear with that, doll? Just something to make yourself look really put together."

She chewed on her lip, debating putting on the jewelry she walked by upstairs. Finally deciding her grandmother knew better than she would, Amethyst trotted her way back up the stairs and slid her bracelet on, holding the necklace in her palm for just a moment before clasping it around her neck.

All six of them fit in the SUV her grandfather had rented, citing the weather and amount of people he was going to be driving around. Amethyst, Tyler and Angela sat in the very back, their hands twisted together as they drove to the district court in downtown Forks.

Amethyst was surprised to see how many people were already in the court room when she arrived, due to the fact it was a low priority bench trial. Chief Swan, Bella's father, and the other cop who had interviewed her were sitting in the benches, along with Mr. Gulden and Coach Clapp. She accepted kisses from Tyler, Angela and her grandmother who slid in to the second bench with Mrs. Crowley. Her grandfather was blocking her view of the other side, but she could see multiple bodies on that side as well.

The two sat on the left side of the room, her grandfather sorting through a set of documents he had pulled from his briefcase. Amethyst forced herself to keep her hands still but couldn't manage to do the same for her foot, anxiously tapping the carpeted floor.

Pairs of eyes piercing her didn't help either. The brunette turned around to tell whoever was staring to stop, but the words died on her lips when she saw the Cullens sitting behind her. Esme and Carlisle seemed to be in deep conversation, but Edward kept his gaze steady on her. Amethyst wanted to yell at him that he had no right after ruining everything, she wanted to flip him off, to scream, to kick him out of the court room, but she turned around to face her grandfather instead. She didn't look back as the door creaked open two more times, working her way back through her statement.

When her parents were brought in, they were both dressed in their best clothes. Amethyst didn't want the fear that stuck her heart to be there, but she was afraid of Tyler being right and her parents getting off without any charges. Neither of them glanced her way as they settled in next to their defense attorney and stared straight forward, waiting for the judge.

A younger woman walked in after the crowd rose to their feet, surprising the brunette slightly. She had partially expected Forks to continue stereotypes by having old, white men as judges. The woman smiled out at all of them as the bailiff went through his typical spiel, finally telling them to be seated.

"Alright, Ashford family. As mentioned I am Judge Houser and will be ruling on your case. I have already examined statements from the police and _amicus curae_ briefs, as well as the evidence from the hospital. Today is the time for lawyers to construct what really happened in the house on Merchants Street. Prosecution, you may proceed with your opening statements."

Amethyst thought she was going to puke as her grandfather walked up to present his argument. She hadn't thought this moment would be real for so long, having shoved it to the back of her mind. But there she was, facing the reality that either she was going to be the reason her parents went to jail or that she would have to move back into a house with them again. She pressed her good hand against her stomach, regretting eating a granola bar that morning even though her sugar had been low.

After opening statements, her grandfather gently squeezed her knee and stood up. "Your honor, I would like to call my first witness, Amethyst Ashford to the stand." Judge Houser nodded and Amethyst stood, attempting to keep the shake out of her legs as she walked up to the witness box. She sat down in her chair after the bailiff swore her in, staring directly at her grandfather.

"Full name for the records, please?"

The brunette turned to the judge in slight surprise, forgetting the procedures. "Amethyst Emerald Ashford."

Judge Houser nodded to her grandfather, who smiled slightly at her.

"Now, Ms. Ashford, can you tell me who those people are?"

She swallowed heavily as he pointed to the defense table. "Carla and Dave Ashford."

"And your relationship to them?"

"They're my parents." Amethyst voiced cracked, so she cleared her throat quickly.

Her grandfather walked over and put his hands on the witness box. "Ms. Ashford, why did you seek a case against them?"

"They abused me." Her voice wasn't nearly as strong as she wanted it to be, so she tried again. "They abused me. There was emotional abuse for years in New York City, including them blaming me for a wreck that made my father lose re-election for senate. When we moved to Forks, that abuse turned physical."

"Objection, your honor, on basis of conjecture." Amethyst jumped when the defense attorney spoke up, making her break eye contact with her grandfather.

Judge Houser nodded. "The information about re-election will be stricken from the record."

The brunette turned to her grandfather with her eyes wide in panic, but he remained calm, smiling at her instead. "Tell me about the physical abuse you endured. What was the first situation?"

"I had picked up a box of china from the moving truck when we first moved to Forks. The box was heavy and it was raining that day. My grip slipped on one side of the box, and it hit the floor in our kitchen. My father punched me in the eye after I dropped it, saying I was worthless and couldn't do anything correctly."

When her grandfather rested, Amethyst felt emotionally drained. She had been forced to relive every single abuse she had been through, with him poking for more information when he knew it would help the case.

"Would the defense like to cross examine?"

The brunette would have groaned with dread if she hadn't known how important it was to not show her emotions. Her parents' lawyer stood up, walking over to her with a small smile.

"Now, Ms. Ashford. Referring to the time you dropped the china box, do you remember your father punching you?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Are you sure that's exactly the way the situation played out?"

Amethyst shook her head slightly. "I gave as much detail as I could remember verbatim, not flushing out the story in order to minimize factual errors."

"Right, of course. You mentioned something about a wreck in New York. Can you tell everyone a bit about that?"

"Objection, your honor. The wreck is irrelevant as it was already settled in New York."

"The witness brought it up, your honor," the defense attorney said, turning to the woman. "She brought information into this case and I have a right to analyze it."

"Proceed," Judge Houser said with a nod.

Amethyst's eyes were wide with panic as she looked back to the attorney. She hadn't collected her thoughts about the wreck, not expecting it to be part of the case. She had made a huge mistake without realizing it.

"Ms. Ashford, you mentioned getting into an accident in New York with your father. Could you explain that situation for me please?"

She swallowed heavily. "I had been working late at my grandfather's practice, doing research for him as usual. My father came and got me, which was unusual as I normally took the subway home. It was icy that night, a typical late March day in New York. We were driving down an alleyway when we hit a patch of ice, making the car spin out of control and eventually flip. NYPD later ruled the incident was due to operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol."

"If that's how the story goes, why would you say your parents blamed you for it?"

"They told me. My mom told me."

The defense attorney laughed slightly. "Was this during arguments?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Were these statements made during arguments? Or did they just come up in conversation?"

"They came up during arguments." Amethyst's chest was so tight she was getting concerned about her ability to breathe.

"So there's a chance the statements were made in the heat of the moment kind of situations, and you might have misplaced them in your mind?"

"No," the brunette said, her voice thick as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. "The only conversations that ever happened in my house were arguments. My parents never spoke to me unless I was doing something wrong in their eyes, such as making friends with the children of my mother's boss or leaving the television on when I left the house. I wasn't worth their time."

"Did you ever stop to ask yourself if they were teaching you lessons you didn't want to hear, and that's why you accused them abuse?"

She smiled the slightest bit as tears began to actually rush from her eyes. "Would you consider breaking an arm in two places teaching a child a lesson? Would you throw a child down the stairs for having a friend over? Would you throw them to the ground for trying to make friends in a new place? Because if you consider any of that teaching a child a lesson, I would hate to be one of your children." Amethyst scrubbed at her face angrily, trying to chase her tears away.

The defense attorney only had a few more questions, which the girl answered as succinctly as possible before finally being allowed to walk down from the stand. Amethyst only made it halfway back to her chair before she stepped on her heel the wrong way, making her bash her side into the jury box. She cried out in surprise over the gasps that came from the audience, catching herself with her bad arm. Her grandfather came over to take her hand and help her straighten up, looking over her quickly.

"Are you alright, Ms. Ashford?"

The brunette looked up at her judge, tears welling up in her eyes again. "Yes, your honor. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."

"I know, Ms. Ashford. Please go back to your seat."

Amethyst gently kept herself balanced using her grandfather, mentally cursing herself for losing her balance in front of the court. She glanced out into the crowd guiltily, surprised when the first pair of eyes she saw were honey colored. Jasper still looked to be halfway out of his seat when she reached the table, only settling back down when Carlisle gently pulled on his arm.

She forced herself not to think about him in his suit, not to let herself get distracted as another tear rolled down her cheek.

Her grandfather also interviewed Carlisle, Esme, Charlie Swan and both of her teachers, the last two surprising the girl. Carlisle explained away her slip up, saying her ankle must still have been weak from when she fell on it incorrectly. Chief Swan seemed to uncomfortably describe the scene he had walked in on with Esme filling in the gaps of what happened before he got there, while Coach Clapp described the way the girl had moved in class as if every muscle in her body hurt. Mr. Gulden kept eye contact with Amethyst while he was on the stand, explaining how panicked she had been at the thought of telling her parents she was late to school and how exemplary of a student she had been since the beginning.

Her parents were next on the stand, called as witnesses by the defense attorney. Her mother went up first, a calm look on her face as she worked her way through the questions.

"What caused enough tension in your family for you all to have to be before the court?"

Carla sighed. "We've been working on raising Amethyst correctly. We wanted to get her out of the city when that proved to be the wrong environment for her, bringing her to a smaller area where both Dave and I could find work."

"And how did that go?"

"It's been rough, obviously. Amethyst is so clumsy and forgetful, that we had to work to discipline her in ways that would stick. She admitted to dropping a china box, leaving the stove on and you saw her trip as she walked across the court room. We were just trying to make sure the girl would be able to survive on her own."

Amethyst wanted to scream and run out of the court room by the time her mother had been cross examined, tuning out much of the conversation that went on with her father as well. One question that came from her grandfather surprised her.

"Why don't you ever refer to Amethyst as your daughter?"

"Excuse me?"

"The entire time on the stand, you referred to her as Amethyst, always calling your wife by her name as well or as your wife. None of this implies a connection to the child. Why would you be so careful about your wording?"

"Objection, your honor, that's a leading question." The defense attorney was back on his feet.

Judge Houser looked at Amethyst's grandfather. "Overruled. There was not a limitation on the way to answer the question."

He nodded to the woman before turning back to Dave, waiting for an answer.

"Just for court records," the man said with a small shrug.

"So while your daughter could sit up here and call you her parents still, address you as her mother and father, you couldn't use anything other than her name?"

"Objection!"

That time, the judge nodded. "Question is stricken from the record."

"The prosecution rests, your honor." Her grandfather came over and sat down next to Amethyst, squeezing her shoulder slightly.

They sat through closing statements before the judge called a recess so she could analyze the evidence presented. They all stood as she walked out of the room, Amethyst sprinting out behind her the instant she could.

The brunette was crying before she even made it into the hallway, ignoring the calls of the people behind her to wait. She burst through the doors to the courthouse, yanking her heels off so she could keep running through the rain, not caring about her appearance or her emotions or anything anymore.

She turned to the chest of the first pair of hands that caught her, sobbing when they stopped her movement. Amethyst wanted to keep running, to run straight out of Forks and never have to look back. A twinge of guilt came from inside her at the thought of leaving Tyler and Angela behind, but she couldn't handle things her parents had said and the way they had said them. She didn't want to feel trapped anymore by them.

"Don't," the voice said softly as she clung to the person. "Don't let yourself get caught up in the court."

Amethyst knew that voice all too well. She shoved Jasper away from her, glaring up at him. "Get the hell away from me."

"Not like this. I'm not leaving you alone in the rain after everything that happened in there. You're hurting but you don't need to hurt alone."

"No!" she screamed, batting the hand away that he reached out to her. "You don't have a right to do this to me. You don't get to choose when you want to be in my life. You pulled yourself out a month ago, and you don't have any right to bring yourself back in like this."

"You need support and help and love," Jasper said, grabbing her arms. "I can be here for you."

"Just to walk away again the next time I need you?"

The two stared each other down through the rain until Tyler caught up, pulling Amethyst away from Jasper under his umbrella.

"Hey, beautiful, you can't run off like that," he said softly, giving her shoes back and keeping her balanced when she put them on. "Come on, Angela's waiting to clean you up in the bathroom."

Amethyst didn't look back as they walked away from Jasper, clinging to Tyler's arm instead. Angela helped the girl dry off as much as possible and redo her hair and makeup before they walked back into the courtroom, Amethyst only slightly worse for the wear.

She waited silently beside her grandfather until they stood for the judge to reenter. The woman looked the brunette up and down with a raised eyebrow, but didn't say anything to her.

After they were all seated, there was a tense feeling in the court room. Judge Houser cleared her throat finally after shuffling through her papers.

"I, Judge Christine Houser, upon fair review and examination of all information provided, and following in precedent in the state of Washington, have come to my ruling. Mr. Dave Ashford is guilty of two counts of misdemeanor abuse and one count of felony abuse. Mrs. Carla Ashford is guilty of two counts of felony abuse. Both will be forced to surrender their parental rights, while there is still some negotiation to be done in terms of prison sentences." The woman smiled down at Amethyst, who had tears rolling down her face. "You, my dear, are free to go."


	27. Dare You To Move To Answer The Phone

Amethyst didn't have words for the way she felt that night. Angela had come back to the Crowley's house with them after the trial, and everyone had been ecstatic over the ruling. The brunette herself finally felt as if she was breathing freely, as if everything in the world was right. She shoved the part of her that was screaming that everything was not right back as far as she could, hoping to actually enjoy herself instead.

They ordered Chinese food and sat in the living room for hours, laughing and talking about anything other than the situation in the court room. Tyler seemed to have a never-ending list of puns that he insisted on running through, throwing a new one out every time their conversation began to die.

Eventually, Amethyst found herself following her grandfather away from the party and up to her room, where she plopped happily on the bed. She watched him look around the pictures in her room, smiling when he came across her favorite ones.

"No pictures of Jasper, I see."

The girl sighed. The one topic she wanted to avoid. "Things changed when I came back."

"They didn't seem to change much for him. He was after you like a rocket today when you left the court room."

"I don't know why, Granddad. Boys are complicated."

The man chuckled as he eased down next to her on the bed. "That is a statement I know all too well. Now, we have to leave for New York tomorrow, but you and I needed to talk about something before I left."

"Of course. What's wrong?"

"Your parents were ordered to surrender their parental rights today."

"I know," Amethyst said, pleased by the statement. However, her face fell when he didn't smile back. "What does that mean?"

"It means that you have no one legally responsible for you, which can't happen for another year."

She pushed off her shoes using her toes before pulling her feet up onto the bed. "Oh."

"Oh is right, my dear. I've been thinking about different solutions, but I'm not sure that you'll find you like any of them."

"Oh."

He sighed and reached over to rub her arm. "One option is legally emancipating yourself. As you don't have a legal guardian at this point in time, you would only have to prove to the court that you are responsible enough for yourself. That means taking on more hours at the library or finding another job to make your ends meet, showing that you can afford to be on your own, as well as having a reliable place to stay."

"Is that all?" Amethyst said sarcastically, sighing when she moved to unroll her hair as well.

"You could maintain this residence at the same time, but you would have to solve insurance and taxes on your own. Your grandmother and I would be unable to help you. Of course, you could use your trust fund as a portion of your income, but I know you were planning on saving that."

"For a house one day," she murmured.

"So I've trying to been work out how your grandmother and I could be your legal guardians," he said with a small sigh. "Unfortunately, that means you would probably have to move back to New York with us. The Crowleys do not have a foster license so we can't put you in here through CPS. But that's as far as I've been able to get."

The two sat in silence, Amethyst's watch ticking on the nightstand. She fiddled with the Velcro on her brace, trying to think things through."

"What about if we put it in like a boarding school?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Go on."

"Lots of children go off to boarding school or say they're working through an exchange program. Is there a way you guys could keep custody of me and say that I'm staying in Forks as part of a cultural study or something? I'm sure I could find a class at a local college that would help me back it up."

"So say that you're taking time to live in a small town as part of a sociological study?"

"It could work. A small college in the area would probably soak it up as well, considering I can log the changes to my life since I've moved here and still have my contacts back in New York who I can get information from for comparisons," Amethyst said, feeling a small amount of excitement build in her stomach.

"Well, the ruling doesn't go into effect until sentencing decisions are made, which could take up to six months. Until then, your parents do have legal custody of you still. I suppose if you took steps to enroll in a college course for the summer, or work something out with your high school for an independent study, I could file that you have to stay in the area due to extenuating circumstances." Her grandfather was thinking it through as well, a grin beginning to play over his face. "I can work with that. Now, I do have to ask, are you sure that you don't want to file for emancipation? It would be a much shorter and easier process for you."

"Nope!" Amethyst jumped off the bed and went over to grab more comfortable clothes from her closet. "I think I'll keep being a kid for as long as I can." She pressed a kiss to his cheek before going into the bathroom to change.

The Crowleys went to bed soon after her grandparents left, congratulating Amethyst on the ruling. Amethyst laid on the floor with her head on Tyler's stomach, who rested his head on Angela's stomach, who rested her head on the brunette's.

The girl played with Angela's hair as they laid there. "I now have to figure out custody stuff," she admitted to them with a small sigh. "My grandfather is doing everything in his power to let me stay here. They obviously wouldn't have let me come back unless they wanted me to be able to settle in, but I'm nervous about how the court is going to take our solution."

Tyler reached over to squeeze her good hand. "No matter what, we figure things out." He pulled his hand away a moment later, crossing them over his chest.

Amethyst laughed lightly, but stopped when Angela complain it jiggled her head too much. However, the comment caused another round of laughter from both the brunette and Tyler, ruining the girl's attempt.

"You know, Jasper seemed really concerned today," Angela commented once the laughter died down.

"I know. My grandfather told me about him leaving the court room and he was the first to catch up with me."

"He seemed really upset I was taking you away," Tyler commented. "I was kind of surprised he didn't fight more to keep you there."

Amethyst shrugged. "People don't get to choose when they're involved with you. I'm not going to sneak around and kiss him in private on his schedule. A lot has happened in this past month, and he hasn't been there to support me through any of it. He doesn't get to waltz back in like nothing happened now that my trial is over."

"Is that really how you see it?" Angela looked up at her friend, surprise written on her face.

"How do you see it?"

"From what I know, he told you that you two couldn't keep sneaking around. Maybe he was trying to find a way to make things better for the two of you, where you wouldn't have to keep meeting in the corners. He still looks at you a lot across the lot in the mornings and during lunch. You should've seen him after the car accident, and it was just as bad at the trial. The way I see it, Jasper would move a mountain for you." The two girls kept steady eye contact, but Amethyst shook her head.

"He made it pretty clear I don't know my boundaries and that I needed to back off."

"I think I'm going to ask Bella to the dance."

Both girls turned to Tyler. "It's a girls choice dance," Angela said, recovering first.

"Yeah, but she seems pretty shy. Maybe a push in the right direction will help her realize that it was meant to be me all along."

Tyler had to fend off pokes and smacks coming at him from both sides, laughing as he did so.

That night, Amethyst and Angela shared a bed. They didn't say much, both wrapped up in their own thoughts as they tried to get a bit of sleep before school. However, there was one thought the brunette couldn't get past.

"Hey, Ang?"

The girl hummed quietly in response.

"Why would he walk away if he still cared?"

"I think that's a question for Jasper," Angela said, but she reached over to take her friend's hand anyway. The two drifted off to sleep eventually, and the alarm set for the morning run came much too early for any of their likings.

Tyler drove the three of them to school the next morning in his Sentra, purchased with the insurance money from the van. He was talking both of them through his plan to ask Bella to the dance, only after Mike would though. The girls laughed it off, but Amethyst felt annoyance begin to build up inside of her.

Even though he talked about it all day, the boy apparently didn't get the chance to ask Bella. Amethyst was shaking her head when she climbed into the car, wondering if it was worth walking home to avoid his ramblings.

"Tomorrow, I'm just going to do it. There's always tomorrow," Tyler murmured to himself as he put the car into gear.

Amethyst sighed and pulled her feet up onto the seat when she noticed there seemed to be a line for traffic, and Bella's truck was directly in front of them.

Tyler noticed the same thing, throwing the car into park. "I'm gonna go ask her now. No one else can exactly interrupt."

She was too tired of his ramblings to debate his logic, watching as her friend climbed out of the car and went over to Bella's window. The brunette sighed again, leaning her head against the cold window in hopes of keeping off her headache that was starting to form. Tyler had to take her to physical therapy soon, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

Amethyst felt her eyes drawn to a group of people moving through the parking lot toward the car that started the hold up. She wanted to break her gaze away from the tall blonde male in the group, but instead felt her heart beat a little faster when he ran his hand through his locks. The same locks her hands had been tangled in a number of times. The girl pushed the thought away almost as soon as it came, but knew she would be dreaming about Jasper Hale that night.

Tyler slid back into the car with a grin on his face.

"Went that well, huh?"

"Nope, she's going to Seattle that weekend. But there's always prom," he said, following the thankfully moving line of cars out of the lot.

The next day Amethyst agreed to ride with Tyler again. She had tutoring after school while he had practice, and she felt off balance because her sugar was low again. The girl was annoyed with the almost constant struggle with her body, but figured it was safer to let herself be driven while she sipped on her hot chocolate.

When they climbed out of the car, Amethyst noticed Edward Cullen was talking to Bella again. They seemed to be having a conversation about something as the girl dried off her keys, but the brunette rolled her eyes and walked to her friends to avoid staring.

At lunch, Bella got up and left their table after having a conversation with Jessica. Electric blue eyes followed the girl over to the table where she sat down with Edward, making anger build up inside of her.

"What is so special about that girl?" Amethyst hissed to Angela, turning back to her salad with a vengeance.

"Everyone kind of wondered the same thing about you," the tall girl reminded her, reaching over to still her harsh stabbings. "If I remember correctly, you got into a fight with Lauren about the Cullens being interested in you."

She heaved a sigh, hating that the girl next to her was so judicious. "But the Cullens didn't really talk to anyone before I got here," Amethyst explained lamely. "And then once Bella gets here, I'm suddenly thrown out like a rotten tomato and everyone starts to give her attention."

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself."

It was an extremely rare occasion to get Angela riled up. "I'm not."

"But you are. You're sitting here, jealous about a girl getting attention from a guy you weren't ever involved with while the guy who you did have a relationship with is staring at the back of your head. I agree that the way Jasper treated you wasn't fair, but there's always time to rebuild relationships and heal. He didn't exactly cheat on you or do something that was so outrageous you shouldn't go back to him.

"He chased after you during your trial. He offered a hand to you that you didn't want to take, and I don't blame you for it. But you cannot be sitting here moping about the Cullens giving attention to any person. That's not fair to them or to Bella."

Amethyst swallowed much more heavily at the girl's words, realization hitting her hard. She had been so busy being angry at Bella for screwing things up that she hadn't stopped to get to know the girl, nor had she reached out to any of the Cullens to fix their friendships. The brunette really had taken the situation at face value, not bothering to think any of it through.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, truly feeling guilty. "I guess I have too much New York in me still."

"Well, it's better than having too much Forks in you," Tyler chimed in, making both the girls groan with laugher at the pun, Amethyst throwing a balled up napkin at him.

When lunch began to draw to a close, the girl grabbed her friend's arm. "I really am sorry."

"I know. And it happens to everyone. There are just some other people you need to apologize to."

Amethyst followed the gaze over to where Edward was sitting, the table empty around him. She sighed before walking over, sliding into the chair beside him.

"I'm really selfish."

The boy quirked a smile. "Finished hating Bella?"

"I don't hate her, I just really didn't understand it. She showed up and you left. You come back and save her, and then Jasper walks out on me. Bella kind of seemed to be in the middle of my issues and I directed them toward her instead of coming to you guys."

Edward looked her directly in the eyes, a motion he didn't often make. "I was at your trial to support you. I saw the same thing you did that night and I saw how you were. I wanted to do what I could to make everything right. My testimony wasn't relevant, but I couldn't stay away. And neither could Jasper."

"I thought it was clear he wanted me to stay away."

"There's a lot of issues going on with my family right now. No, we aren't perfect," he said, cutting off her thought before it left her mouth, "but we're trying to work through it. Needing some space to figure things out is pretty normal."

Amethyst sighed. "I really didn't know what to do. Jasper shut the door in my face, but everyone else bolted it closed."

"Thing are different now." Edward patted her knee lightly. "There's a lot that is going to change and has already changed. But if I were you, I would put myself by the water fountain outside of the library after government. Now go to class."

Amethyst took Edward's advice, smiling slightly when she saw Jasper making his way past it. She glanced around, noticing everyone else must have taken a different exit route, before stepping out in front of him and yanking the front of his shirt toward her.

He seemed surprised as their lips connected, the girl reveling in the sweet, unique taste Jasper had. She pulled him closer by his belt loop as his hands grabbed her hips tightly. When they broke away, Amethyst gave herself a moment before she opened her eyes.

"I thought I didn't get to choose when I was in or out of your life."

"You don't," she murmured, flattening out his collar. "Edward chose for you."

Jasper chuckled before he placed one more kiss to her lips. "I do have to go. My family's waiting. Can we talk tomorrow?"

"Physical therapy after school," she said with a small sigh, backing away from him. "The best I can do is next Tuesday, if they tell me I'm cleared from physical therapy."

"We'll plan for Tuesday, then."

"I'm sorry," Amethyst said softly when he was a few steps away.

He spun around to press another solid kiss to her lips. "I'm sorry, too, darlin'. We'll figure everything out soon enough, though."

The pair didn't actually have another moment to themselves for a while. Amethyst was cleared of her physical therapy and wraps on Thursday, with the promise she would take care of her arm and would let them know if there was any significant change. She spent Friday working four hours at the library to make up for the ones she had missed due to her trial, and found herself back in the same place Saturday, humming as she stocked her books.

Angela had taken the day off to go to La Push with their friends, but Amethyst had hung back, saying she couldn't afford to miss a full day of work. Her grandfather had called Thursday night to let her know the court would take her proposal into consideration, but she still had to prove she was financially responsible enough to live under a different roof from her legal guardian.

She enjoyed having the full use of her arm back as she reached up to the higher shelves, balancing a stack in her other arm. The girl spotted a book on the top of the shelf and glared at it, wondering who had put it there. Amethyst couldn't reach it on her toes, which she had to balance on when she stocked some of the higher books anyway.

As she groaned in frustration, there was a chuckle behind her as a different arm reached up to grab the book. A body pressed up against her back as well, making her tense up for a moment.

"It's cute you think that you're that tall," Jasper said, pulling the book down for her.

"I am a perfectly respectable height, unlike some of my company," she said, but found herself grinning when he leaned down to press his lips against hers. "What're you doing here?"

"Needed a book for my history project."

Amethyst raised an eyebrow at him. "So you chose to come to the mystery section?"

Jasper chuckled, showing her the book he already had in his hand. "I just happened to see you on my way out and couldn't resist the chance to say hello."

"Well, hi," she said, leaning up to kiss him again.

"You're getting much better at that," he teased in a low voice the girl found hard to resist, but she forced herself to shove him away.

Amethyst found herself laughing as he grinned at her. "Get out of here before you get me in trouble."

The boy reached out to touch her necklace she had taken to wearing again since that Wednesday and winked at her before making his way out.

The rest of her day was dull in comparison, and she spent a lot of Sunday going through books at the circulation desk. She was grateful when she finally got home from work, parking beside Tyler's car. The girl hummed the song that had been playing on the radio, making her way inside the house with a called hello to the people who were sitting in the living room.

When the phone rang, Amethyst jumped slightly. "I'll get it," Tyler called from the living room, but the brunette wondered downstairs, surprised at herself for being so on edge.

"Oh, hey Bella! Great of you to call. Today was tons of fun."

She rolled her eyes and went to head back to her room.

"You want to talk to Amethyst?"

She wasn't expecting that. The girl peeked into the living room to see Tyler frowning into the receiver of the cordless phone.

"I mean, are you sure?"

Huffing, Amethyst walked over and pulled the phone from his hand, smacking his shoulder lightly. "Hi, Bella?"

"Hi, can you be alone?"

"Sure, hold on." The girl ignored whatever sign language Tyler was trying to do and went up to her room, closing the door behind her. "What's up?"

"Why didn't you tell me about the Cullens?"

Of course. "I tried to."

"When?"

"Like every time people were spreading rumors about them. I tried to make sure you knew that it wasn't like everyone kept saying."

Bella's sarcastic laugh surprised the girl. "Yeah, no kidding. So does anyone else know?"

"About them? I mean I suppose everyone has their questions. I never really told Tyler or Angela anything directly. The Cullens like their privacy."

"Yeah, no kidding. I would too if I was a vampire stuck in a school with a couple hundred kids every day."

Amethyst laughed slightly. "I mean I guess that's one way to look at it."

"So when did they tell you?"

"Tell me?"

"About the vampire thing? Did you freak out?"

She exhaled slightly heavier than normal. "Come on, Bella. It was a good analogy, but drop it. The Cullens are just normal people."

Silence washed over the two of them. Amethyst waited with a small smile on her face for the retort, but nothing ever came. "Bella?"

"You didn't know?"

She suddenly found it difficult to form words. "You're telling me… The Cullens are vampires?"

 **A/N:**

 **This chapter felt like such a let down to me after the trial, but I knew from the very beginning I wanted it to play out this way. I hope you guys aren't too disappointed with my writing here, and that you all can still enjoy the big things that happen. I'm sorry about this chapter, but I do have big plans for the next one. Please keep reading, I promise it'll get better!**


	28. Dare You To Move Trees

Alice first saw that Peter and Charlotte would be coming while Jasper played Emmett in an 8-board game of chess. The boy immediately launched into an internal battle of excitement and worry. Of course, his dear friends never hunted while they were in the area, but there were two humans who had come to mean much more to the family than others, and the idea of normal vampires around them created some anxiety in both him and Edward.

The brothers had been at an impasse for several days. Jasper couldn't stand the thought that Bella Swan knew about their family. Edward had been much too reckless in his motions, and the logical blonde had wanted to deal with it. He had been convinced there wasn't any other way.

 _Rosalie wouldn't be happy about it, but she would follow Carlisle. Jasper knew that, and there was no point in trying to change her mind. As a matter of fact, there was no point in trying to change anyone's mind. He was already going to leave one broken heart behind – creating a few more by doing what was right would be worth it. He didn't even feel the need to listen to their discussion as he leaned against the wall, planning the entire time._

" _Jasper," Edward said._

 _It broke his thoughts but not his determination. He met his brother's eyes, not giving anything away._

" _She won't pay for my mistake. I won't allow that."_

 _That wasn't right. Edward put everyone in danger to save that girl, literally putting everything on the line to change fate. It wasn't fair._

" _She benefits from it, then? She should have died today, Edward. I would only set that right." He bother putting venom into the words, going back to his plan._

" _I will not allow it." Edward emphasized each word, as if Jasper wasn't understanding him. "What if it was Amethyst? I knew what you were thinking when you got to the van."_

 _The blonde arched an eyebrow. "I don't want her to be in danger, even a slight danger. We all know what she had to live through, and we all know why we didn't step in. We've been careful to keep the secret from her for this exact reason. Our relationship may be dangerous, but I was willing to walk away from the best thing that happened to me since Alice for our family. I lost someone today. You haven't lived through what I've lived through, whether you've seen my memories or not. You don't understand."_

" _I'm not disputing that, Jasper. But I'm telling you now, I won't allow you to hurt Isabella Swan."_

 _Jasper tested Edward's determination, deciding it was willing to fight to protect their family. He had done everything right – hunting to keep the girl safe, knowing when to stay away, even letting her suffer through things no one should ever be forced to deal with – and Edward was willing to put it all in jeopardy over the girl he barely knew while the blonde was forced to walk away from the girl he loved._

" _Jazz," Alice said lightly, making him sigh a bit internally._

 _He kept his gaze on Edward for just another moment before turning to the small girl. She watched out for him, kept him safe and sane. For so long, the blonde had wanted to love her, but couldn't find it in himself. Alice, as a matter of fact everyone, deserved so much better than him, but he was so very lucky to have her in his life. "Don't bother telling me the risks. I know what I'm getting myself in to-"_

" _Actually, I was going to ask you for a favor."_

 _Edward audibly gasped, but Jasper couldn't draw his eyes away from the small girl._

" _I know you love each one of us and just want to protect the family. I know you're so in love with Amethyst that it's easy to pretend around her and you try to make yourself believe the situation is normal. But I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to kill Bella. First of all, Edward's serious and I don't want you two fighting. Secondly, she's going to be a part of the family."_

 _He tried to understand what was going on in her head. He couldn't imagine a situation more different from the one with Amethyst, who didn't ask too many questions or push open doors because she was happy, and Jasper knew it. This girl had come in and ruined everything, possibly exposing their family to the entire city. But being a part of the family? Something Alice hadn't even seen in relation to Amethyst?_

" _But, Alice," he tried._

" _I'm going to love her someday, Jazz. I'll be very put out with you if you don't let her be."_

 _Jasper felt his resolve crack. Alice had saved him, given him the world. She deserved everything she could ever ask for and more._

" _Ah," she sighed. "See? Bella's not going to say anything. There's nothing to worry about."_

 _He shook his head as he left the room, not wanting to hear anything more about the ridiculous conversation that would probably follow._

Alice had come upstairs after the meeting ended, telling him about everything he had seen. Bella would either end up dead or a vampire. In their false privacy, Jasper asked her about Amethyst as well. He had to know what would happen to her, if it was only possible for it to end in one of two ways with the other girl.

The short girl shook her head, saying Amethyst would still go to school and enjoy a normal life as far as she could tell.

What Alice saw was one of the main reasons Jasper allowed himself to be involved with Amethyst. He was lucky about her scent, so off putting when they first met due to her extended abuse. And then it had turned to a smell almost like rain, with touches of honeysuckle and apple. Yes, there was a burning at the back of his throat, but it was almost the opposite of how it seemed to be for Edward. The brunette was just easier for him to be around, putting him at peace with the world around him. Even when she blushed, it never pushed him to a point where it hurt more than usual.

It left Jasper at an interesting crossroads with Edward. He knew his brother had sent the girl to him Wednesday, a fact he appreciated. His help seemed to be a kind of truce, letting the blonde know they were both in the same boat. The boy considered their situation as Alice began mouthing Emmett's moves to him over her shoulder.

They both loved humans. At that point in time, there wasn't really a point in denying it. Amethyst was beautiful, feisty, strong and intelligent, and Jasper didn't want to keep away from her. She didn't ask questions and she didn't push unless she felt as if she needed to, making the blonde grateful she hadn't deemed it necessary around their family. Bella had a very different approach, questioning everything. She had slammed into their lives like a battering ram, but Edward loved her the same way he loved Amethyst.

His brother looked over from his spot at the piano, smiling and nodding slightly. Jasper hadn't forgiven him for his actions, but not being angry anymore was at least a start.

The next day, Jasper wanted to see her. They would have to miss school because of the sunshine, although the boy probably would have skipped with his old friends in town anyway. He wanted to see her again, not having truly gotten a moment alone with her since Wednesday. Walking to his closet, Jasper pulled out a black t-shirt he knew the girl loved before sliding on his most favorite pair of jeans. His cowboy boots peeked at him from the back of the closet, so he smiled before pulling them on as well.

He walked out of the door while pulling on his jacket, letting Edward know where he was going mentally just in case someone was concerned. Jasper sprinted to the library through the light drizzle, appreciating the fresh air and the cleansing effect it tended to have on his senses, carrying a reminder of the girl he was rushing to see.

Walking first to the history section, the blonde grabbed a book that would work with the story he had created on his run over. He followed her scent into the mystery section, watching for a moment as she glared at the top of the bookshelf. Following her eyes, Jasper saw the book someone had tossed up there, chuckling to himself.

He put himself behind Amethyst, reaching up to easily grab the book for her. Being so close, the boy couldn't pass up the opportunity to press his body against hers, chuckling when she tensed.

"It's cute you think that you're that tall." Jasper loved teasing her, getting her different emotions riled up. He could get drunk off of her emotions, and the stronger they were, the better they felt.

Happiness and just a slight bit of relief washed over the girl, who turned to her with a huge smile on her face. "I am a perfectly respectable height, unlike some of my company." Of course she would keep up the tough face. Jasper leaned down to kiss the girl, reveling in her sweet scent and warmth. "What're you doing here?"

"Needed a book for my history project." She was thoughtlessly taking in his outfit, probably not even realizing her eyes had left his face. The monster in his chest was pleased with the attraction that rolled off of her, wishing she would show it on her face as clearly as it came through in her emotions.

She raised an eyebrow instead. "So you chose to come to the mystery section?"

Amethyst was only wearing light makeup, a trend that had become normal when the abuse stopped. Her eye makeup was much less dramatic on a daily basis than it used to be, and she only wore concealer on days when she felt sick. Jasper loved her confidence with the thin scars that covered her face, as he had so many of his own her eyes couldn't find. She was so perfect to him and for him, and he couldn't imagine his life being different.

Coming back to their conversation, he chuckled and showed her the book he had grabbed. She almost never missed a thing, other than the biggest thing she could possibly miss. "I just happened to see you on my way out and couldn't resist the chance to say hello." Couldn't resist the chance to see you smile, to get you a little riled up, to get lost in your emotions…

"Well, hi." Amethyst leaned up to kiss him again. Every time she made the first move it drove him insane in the best way possible.

She pulled her lips away from him much earlier than he would have liked, but knew better than to say that. "You're getting much better at that," Jasper teased, going back in his mind to the day he realized he was in love with her.

His lips pulled up into a smile just before she laughed, but he was sure their minds were in two different places. "Get out of here before you get me in trouble."

She was already in so, so much trouble, but he wouldn't ever be reckless enough to let her supervisor catch them. Deciding it was worth leaving with Amethyst's smile in his mind, he reached out to touch her necklace. She wore it the day of the trial as well. The silver charms fit in his mind as his claim to her, and every day she wore it, Jasper felt triumphant. He winked at he before going to the desk to check out his book.

As the redhead at the desk went through her normal questions about his experience at the library, the blonde felt his mind wandering to a different building in downtown Forks.

 _He almost hadn't shown up to the trial, only changing his mind when Edward had called and told him Amethyst was a mess. Jasper had run back home from the school, where thankfully no one had bothered to notice him, so he could change and go to the trial._

 _The brunette had cried on the stand. No one could understand the anger he felt toward the defense attorney for making the girl cry, particularly in front of her parents. She had dealt with enough from them, she didn't deserve the embarrassment she had to sit through while being cross examined._

 _On her way back to her seat, Jasper watched as she placed her foot wrong on her shoe. He knew she would fall into the jury box, but was left helpless for the second time as she was injured in front of his eyes. Halfway standing up, he wanted to go and help her and pick her up and take her away from everything that was happening, but a firm grip from Edward kept him from moving._

 _Only when she was seated again did the blonde allow his father to actually pull him down. They had made eye contact, but Jasper couldn't decipher anything from her other than the embarrassment. He ignored every word that was said for the rest of the trial, his only thought on helping her, touching her again as soon as possible._

 _When the judge dismissed them, Amethyst ran out of the room immediately with tears on her cheeks. Jasper rushed after her, only careful when his father reminded him not to move too quickly. He was still faster than the others, who sat in shock even when he was already out of the doors behind her._

 _Jasper caught the girl in the rain half a block away, pulling her to his chest as she sobbed. He pressed his lips to the top of her head and shielded her from the rain as much as he could, focusing in on her emotions. When he noticed guilt begin to creep in, he shook his head._

" _Don't. Don't let yourself get caught up in the court."_

 _Relief, happiness, passion and anger all hit him like a brick wall, the first three quickly buried by the anger as Amethyst shoved him away from her. He let her break his hold, knowing things would be worse if he didn't. "Get the hell away from me."_

" _Not like this. I'm not leaving you alone in the rain after everything that happened in there. You're hurting but you don't need to hurt alone." His mind cried out for her to let him in, to let him take away everything that was hurting her._

 _She screamed at him instead. "No! You don't have a right to do this to me. You don't get to choose when you want to be in my life. You pulled yourself out a month ago, and you don't have any right to bring yourself back in like this."_

" _You need support and help and love. I can be here for you." Jasper grabbed her arms, wishing she could read his mind. He wanted her to know how much the last month had been torture and how he had done it for his family. He wanted her to know things could be different, as he had decided it wasn't worth the misery to stay away from her despite the dangers._

" _Just to walk away again the next time I need you?"_

 _Amethyst's words were ice. She knew exactly how to get her point across. Jasper stared at her, wanting her to understand the situation. His entire body screamed at him not to let her go when Tyler pulled her away, but he watched her walk away instead._

" _Hey, beautiful, you can't run off like that." Jasper knew their relationship, but never hated Tyler Crowley and his humanity and normalness more than in that moment._

He wrestled with Emmett when he got home, did some work for the company and flipped through the book he had checked out from the library, but all he could think about was being able to go back to school to spend time with Amethyst.

That night, Alice burst into his room where he was reading the book Amethyst had given him for Christmas for the hundredth time. He looked over to his sister with a raised eyebrow, quickly noticing her unfixed eyes.

"Alice," he said, using his speed to be by her side. "What're you seeing?"

"Amethyst," she gasped out. "Amethyst's going to know."

Pure panic. "What do you mean?"

"Bella's going to tell Amethyst." Alice looked up at Jasper, sorrow in her eyes. "I didn't see it earlier because she's not actually planning on telling her. She thinks Amethyst already knows and so she won't be exactly using those words so I had no idea."

Jasper was gone before she finished her statement, off into the woods. As soon as he was far enough away from his house he began to release the anger, shoving over one tree before sending his fist clean through the other. He cried out, ripping another tree out of the ground before launching it toward the mountain base a few feet away. As it shattered, he crouched down, chest heaving with unnecessary air.

He had done everything correctly to keep the information from Amethyst. And now, Bella was going to ruin everything by telling her when Alice had convinced him they would be safe. It didn't matter that Bella thought she already knew. Amethyst was never supposed to know their secret.

It was daylight before he returned, the sunshine pleasant against his skin. Jasper didn't acknowledge it as he rushed into his house, pausing for a moment where there was a new smell.

"There you are," Peter said with a smile, walking over to clasp Jasper's hand. "We've been wondering where you ran off to, but figured you wanted your space."

"Peter, Charlotte." Jasper released Peter's hand to go kiss Charlotte's cheek. "How wonderful it is to see you two again. I must apologize for my appearance, I went for a run that lasted a little longer than intended."

"We've seen much worse," Charlotte reassured him with a small smile. "We'll wait in the living room while you go change."

It was nice to have his friends back around. They understood him in a way his family couldn't, although it wasn't anyone's fault. It had been a very different time when they met, a time Jasper happily left behind. His family played football that day, a game where the blonde actually managed to lose himself. It was nice to have the physical contact and strategy involved in a game keeping his mind active and off what a certain brunette was doing on the first nice day she had spent in Forks.

Jasper was sitting in his bedroom with Charlotte and Peter on his last day off from school. Peter was going through his collection of books as Charlotte was going through the places they had last spent time, debating where they would travel next.

"I must ask you Jasper," Peter said, interrupting his mate, "where did you find the New York Times collection about the Civil War?"

He sighed. Peter had been inching around the topic the entire time he had stayed with them. "There's a human here."

"A human?" Charlotte asked, honest surprise rolling off of her.

Jasper nodded as Peter looked at him curiously.

"I've been able to smell her around your house. She smells so… Clean, fresh. It's so different from the rich smell we've become accustomed to with humans."

"It's very different," Jasper said, straightening himself on his chair. "She's very different."

"Tell me about her."

He smiled at Charlotte. "Her name is Amethyst. She moved here from New York City in November."

"And you became friends with her?"

"We all did, actually."

"You aren't planning on making her dinner, though."

Jasper physically recoiled at Peter's comment. "No, never."

Charlotte examined him. The woman was small, about the same size as Alice. While she lacked the ability to see right through him the way his family did, she often was able to pinpoint the center of his thoughts. "You love her."

"I do."

"You're in love with a human?" Peter repeated much louder, seemingly offended at the thought. Of course he would be, having been mated with Charlotte for so long at that point. He wouldn't understand, as he still thought of humans as dinner.

The blonde sighed. "I didn't plan on it. When she moved here, she was being abused by her parents. It gave her this rotten smell, much like a body you find in the streets three days later. But she didn't say anything to anyone, instead maintaining a very head strong and confident aura. Her emotions have always been stronger to me, taking over my entire body whenever she's around. And then she was the one who kissed me first."

"How did she react when she found out?"

Jasper didn't reply, making Charlotte gasp. "She doesn't know?"

"I'm honestly not sure right now. I believe she might, but I never wanted her to. I felt too strongly to hurt her or move away from her, so my family agreed I could pursue a relationship with her as long as it ended after she graduated and moved away so she could keep living a normal life. Of course, I couldn't tell her about us either. That's always been one of the top priorities."

"So she's just been a play toy for you?"

"No. Never. I want every inch of her that I can get, however I can get it. Even if it meant a limited relationship without ever saying anything with my family constantly monitoring me, I couldn't stay away." He knew his friends wouldn't understand the statement.

"And the blood lust?"

"I never let myself think about it. I focus every thought on her, who she wants to be and how I can help her. Every second I spend with her is a gift."

A silence washed over the group. "I suppose that's our cue to leave," Charlotte said quietly, standing from the couch in his room.

Peter nodded, trailing down the stairs to the door wordlessly.

"If you see Maria again," Jasper found himself saying as they shook hands, "tell her I wish her well."

Peter laughed. "I don't imagine that will happen soon. But, should it happen, I certainly will."

The blonde bent to press a kiss to Charlotte's cheek. "Good luck," she said softly before the pair took off.

Jasper wondered exactly how much luck he was going to need, as no one in his family knew exactly what would be going through Amethyst's mind when he saw her the next day.


	29. Dare You To Move For Dresses

Monday, Amethyst carefully avoided Bella. She hadn't believed a word the girl had said over the phone, and was slightly concerned for her. She had entertained the thought for a minute while on the phone with the girl, but her run that morning cleared her head and helped her realize exactly how ridiculous the idea was.

"Do you want to go to Port Angeles?"

Amethyst glanced over to Angela in surprise. "Sorry, I was a million miles away. What's going on?"

"Lauren, Jessica and I want to go buy dresses for the dance. I know you're working during the dance, but I've finally saved enough to be able to get whatever I want and they want to shop as well. I figured it'd be a nice break from Forks."

"When are we going?"

Angela smiled. "Tonight, if you want."

"I have work tonight." Amethyst sighed. It really would have been nice to escape to some place bigger, even though the weather was so wonderful. "I'm sorry, Ang."

The tall girl's face faltered the slightest. "Don't be sorry. None of us question that you need to work."

She squeezed her friend's hand when the bell rang, Amethyst's mind instantly floating away from the math she still remembered vividly from the year before.

At lunch, Amethyst was surprised to see the empty Cullen table, watching Bella's reaction carefully as the girl slid in with their friends. She had taken a chair on the other side of Angela, and they were discussing a paper they had for their English class. Angela invited her along to Port Angeles, and when the girl agreed, Amethyst breathed a slight sigh of relief she had an actual excuse for not going.

The entire school seemed obsessed with the idea of the dance. Angela had agreed to go with Eric, despite really wanting to attend with Ben. The two girls had argued about it, but Amethyst backed off when Angela was nearly in tears with her own frustration. Tyler also had dances on his mind, telling anyone who would listen that he was going to go to prom with Bella. She didn't dare go near his statements, not wanting to cause another fight over the brown haired girl who had captured so many guy's attention.

Tyler beat the brunette home that night, playing some game in the living room as she went upstairs.

"Hey, Angela called," he shouted before she was halfway up, making her feet pause.

"What did she want?"

"She said that the shopping trip was postponed to tomorrow, and that you should go with them since you're done with physical therapy."

Amethyst sighed. "Thanks for the information." She went up to her room and dropped onto her bed, her mind still whirring with information.

Bella had told her the legend of the Quileute, and how they had transformed around the cold ones. She went on to tell her about all the information she gathered online about vampires and the legends, and how it was the only conclusion anyone could possibly make.

It just didn't make any sense. Sure, Jasper was freezing cold, but he had told her countless times it was because of circulation issues, and she wasn't in a place to question him. They were at school during the day, obviously, so that factor was ruled out as well. Amethyst had been over to what was very clearly a house, a beautiful one at that, and had seen nothing out of place the entire time she had been there.

There was also the fact of blood. The family didn't exactly have Dracula-like fangs, nor did they hide away from people on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, Carlisle was a doctor who dealt with blood every day.

Amethyst shook her head. The thought was preposterous.

Tyler didn't join her on her run the next day, so she pushed herself to six miles before getting home just after the boy was climbing out of the shower. The brunette washed the sweat off and pulled on one of her sundresses, happy to have the chance to wear it in the still pleasant weather.

Angela pulled her aside as soon as she got to school that day, insisting she make the trip out to Port Angeles.

"I don't know, Ang. Bella, Jessica, Lauren and I don't exactly get along most of the time."

"Lauren has other plans for tonight. Plus, Jessica and I both desperately want your opinion. Even though you don't talk to her, she appreciates your fashion sense."

Amethyst sighed, blowing her loose hair away from her face, but grinned at her friend, who squealed in delight. The brunette laughed as Angela pulled her happily toward first period, only taking a moment to glance over her shoulder.

"The Cullens get pulled out of school every time it's sunny."

Her eyes moved back to her friend. "Every time?"

"Apparently they all go hiking and do outdoors stuff when it's nice enough for them to be able to." Angela held the door open, the girl nodding her thanks as they went in for another day of calculus.

After classes, Amethyst met Angela and walked with the girl back to her home. Living only a few blocks away, she walked to school every day, insisting it wasn't the end of the world.

"I'm sorry if it's a mess," Angela said, looking slightly worried as she unlocked her door.

Amethyst snorted. "You've seen where I live. I doubt Tyler has ever touched a vacuum, and his parents are so busy that they don't mind when it gets cluttered."

"Yeah, but you don't live with 9-year-old twins."

The brunette fell in love with the house as they stepped inside. The place was certainly cluttered, but it had a charm to it that allowed her to overlook the mess. It was small but comfortable, similar to most of the homes in Forks, and was covered in photos and other family trinkets.

Amethyst dropped her book bag in Angela's room, agreeing to leave it there and pick it up the next day when she would drive her friend to school. The two sat on the front stoop to talk until Jessica pulled up, climbing in to the back seat of her car.

She tried not to listen to most of Jessica's ramblings about Mike, as the boy was rather like a brother to her and the thought of them dating made her a bit uncomfortable. But, they were going to the dance together, so the girl reminded herself to be respectful.

They parked by the only department store in town, Amethyst pulling on Angela's arm to get her through the door. Bella was saying something about dances in Phoenix, but she tuned it out as she immediately went to look for the dress racks.

"Well, except for Tyler."

That caught her attention.

"Excuse me? What did you say?"

Electric blue eyes turned to the other three girls, noticing Bella looked to be in shock while the other two girls were grinning.

"Tyler told everyone he's taking you to prom," Jessica said.

Amethyst snorted. "As a matter of fact, he won't shut up about you and is convinced you may be the greatest thing since sliced bread."

"He said what?" The dumbfounded look on Bella's face made the brunette want to laugh, but she turned back to the dresses anyway.

"That's why Lauren doesn't like you." The other three joined her and began to sort through the dresses. Amethyst considered the fact the rude blonde at their table had feelings for Tyler, finding herself unsurprised at the fact.

Bella's shock had turned to anger. "Do you think that if I ran him over with my truck he would stop feeling guilty about the accident? That he might give up on making amends and call it even?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Amethyst pulled out a beautiful scarlet dress, considering it for herself. "He thinks you're so fantastic and wonderful. He's probably thank you for running him over."

She knew it was a mean thing to say about her best friend, but it seemed as if it would be true. The new girl had been a constant topic of conversation between the two of them, and Amethyst wanted it to end as much as Bella seemed to.

Angela nudged her, reminding her to be nice, but the brunette rolled her eyes and offered the scarlet dress to her as an option.

About twenty dresses later, Angela was happy with her pink dress that almost reached the floor, exposing her figure more than her normal outfits. Jessica was torn between a blue dress Amethyst had picked out and a long, strapless back one.

"Go with the blue. It brings out your eyes more."

The brunette smirked when Bella voiced her agreement with her thoughts, trailing behind Jessica over to the accessories. She picked out silver shoes before heading toward the jewelry, taking Amethyst with her.

"I want something that doesn't look cheap, but it can't overdo the dress," Jessica rambled, the girl nodding along.

There was a nice sapphire necklace set in silver, but the price tag immediately chased the two of them away. Amethyst pointed out a rhinestone that was on sale, and the other girl immediately decided it was the one for her.

The girls decided to walk on the pier, but ended up going without Bella who said she wanted to go find a local bookstore. She wanted to remind the girl there was a perfectly good library not very far from the school, but followed the other two out onto the pier instead.

"I wish it could always be like this," Amethyst said, enjoying the way the breeze played with her hair and dress.

Jessica hummed in agreement, but Angela turned to smile at her. "No, you don't. You love every second of snow. I could see it on your face."

She grinned. The girl wasn't wrong. "I love it every day I don't have to drive in it. Snow just makes the whole world seem clean and bright and refreshed. It's a million times better than rain."

"Maybe I should take the necklace back." Jessica but in, making both girls turn to look at her. "I've got one at home that would probably world, and I spent more than I was supposed to."

She didn't want to go back inside but knew better than to start an argument, so she let Angela reply instead.

"I don't mind going back to the store. Do you think Bella will be looking for us, though?"

Jessica had already turned back toward the shop, leaving the other two to catch up. "She's fine. We'll get to the restaurant in plenty of time. Anyway, I think she wanted to be alone."

Amethyst raised an eyebrow at the girl, surprised that someone who had seemed to close to Bella would brush her off so easily.

"Let's hurry, then," Angela said, pulling on her friend's arm. The brunette smiled over at her, picking up the pace to get back to the department store. She quickly checked back out as Jessica started on about Mike again, instead enjoying the nice temperature.

Amethyst insisted she would wait outside while they returned the jewelry, soaking in the last bit of sun she could. Her time alone allowed her mind to wander back to Jasper. She wanted to know what he was doing, wishing he could be the one she had plans to eat dinner with that night.

They made their way to the restaurant, Amethyst walking inside first. She smiled at the hostess, who didn't seem concerned about her in the slightest. "Hi, a table for four please?"

The girl looked at the three of them suspiciously, but nodded and set them at a table near the window. She tucked her feet to the side of her, pushing them in the opposite direction of Angela.

"What're you going to get?" she asked, leaning over to peek at her friend's menu instead of the one directly in front of her.

Angela smiled. "I really want the chicken parmesan, but maybe a salad would be a better choice."

"Dude, no way. Go for the chicken."

Jessica snorted, but didn't otherwise comment.

"Don't you think we should wait for Bella before we order though?"

"We don't want the restaurant to think we're being rude," Jessica said, glancing at her watch. "It's been more than the hour Bella said it would take. She should be back soon."

Angela still looked worried, but the brunette smiled at her. "Just think about it. A pound of pasta, a giant chicken breast, all smothered in tomato sauce…" She laughed when her friend shoved her face away, going back to her own menu.

When their food was served, Bella still hadn't shown up. Angela picked at her meal instead of eating it, making Amethyst sigh. She reached into her wallet to grab a $10 bill, putting it on the table before getting up.

"Where are you going?"

"You're concerned about Bella to the point where you aren't eating. I wasn't really hungry anyway; just get my food in a box for me so it isn't wasted."

Angela moved to get up from the table as well, but the brunette blocked her exit. "I'm not letting you get lost, too."

"Humor me." As if she could get lost in a city that small. "I'll be back within half an hour. Enjoy your dinner. And please, actually eat it."

Once she was sure Angela wasn't going to follow her, Amethyst walked out of the restaurant. There was a pleasant chill to the night air that made her feel better than the food, so she set off in the direction of the bookstore.

She walked all the way down to the store and back, confused by the lack of Bella. The girl apparently hadn't even gone into the book store, as the owner had no idea who she was talking about when she went inside to ask.

Amethyst huffed, crossing her arms as she stood outside the restaurant, wondering where else Bella could have gone. However, her question was answered when a silver Volvo pulled up just outside of the restaurant. Edward climbed out of the car first, apparently not noticing her, before walking around to meet Bella.

"Good hiking trip?" she called, making both of them turn to her. She walked closer to the two of them, her arms crossed over her chest. "Seems as if it was cut a bit short."

Edward smiled at her as charmingly as ever. "Seems as if some of us couldn't want to get back to school."

She let her mind wander back to Jasper, hoping his words were true. Amethyst was interested in seeing him again after Bella's supposed revelation, potentially sharing it with him. She watched with surprised as Edward blinked rapidly at her, turning to glance at the girl by his side before back to her. The look on his face was almost comical, and she was going to question him about it when the restaurant door opened behind them.

"Bella!" Angela cried happily when she spotted the girl, quieting almost instantly when she saw their company.

Jessica seemed much less pleased. "Where have you been?"

"I got lost. And then I ran into Edward."

Amethyst snorted. The luck of it all. Of course she would run into Edward. The two of them seemed to be like magnets ever since she had moved. They were either repelling each other, apparently as far as Alaska, or couldn't be broken apart.

Edward glanced at her quickly before smiling at the other two girls. "Would it be all right if I joined you?"

"We already ate," Amethyst replied quickly.

Jessica turned to frown at her, but she was more focused on the fact that Edward did the same thing. His eyes shifted from her to the box in Angela's hands, but he didn't say anything else.

"That's fine. I'm not hungry."

The boy didn't seem happy with that. "I think you should eat something." He glanced back at Amethyst, as if he were trying to tell her the same thing. "Would you girls mind if I drive Bella home tonight? That way you won't have to wait while she eats."

She should've expected the fact he wanted to be alone with her.

Angela and Jessica accepted it quickly, walking off toward her car, but Amethyst stared him down instead of following them. He met her gaze, his eyes scrunched the slightest bit.

"Would you like to stay to eat with us?"

That one, she did not expect.

"No, she's coming home with us," Angela said, rushing back to grab the brunette's arm. "She's just on edge because she hasn't eaten dinner yet."

Edward nodded slowly. "You should really keep your sugar up. We know what happens when you're kept away from a need for too long."

"Right…" Amethyst trailed off, wondering if there was a double meaning to his words. She let Angela drag her away, but her mind was reeling all over again.

Once the three of them were safely on their way, Jessica began to interrogate the girl.

"Did you know they were back in town?"

"No." She stared out the window, unable to discern anything in the darkness. "I didn't even know they had gone out of town."

She didn't seem happy with that answer. "Why was he there? Did he say?"

"He just said his family wanted to get back for school."

"And the fact that he wanted to stay with Bella?"

Amethyst gave in to her annoyance. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

That shut Jessica up for a little while, even though Angela had prodded her to apologize. If the girl wanted to know about something, she should go to the person and ask. Besides, there were other things to think about, such as Edward.

She was curious about his reaction to her. Just her appearance in Port Angeles hadn't seemed to be a surprise, but her reaction to him had. Amethyst hadn't meant to be cold, but she had more than a few of her own questions about how he had gotten there. She allowed her mind to entertain the vampire thought once more, but pushed it away.

The girl almost laughed out loud in realization, finally noticing Bella and Edward were going to be alone for the first time since the claims had come about the Cullen family being vampires. She wished she could see the look on his face when the words came out of the girl's mouth, and was curious to see how he would avoid her the next day.

However, her assumptions proved to be about as far off as they could have been. She watched along with multiple other shocked classmates as Edward and Bella climbed out of the same car that Wednesday, a jacket that looked as if it belonged to him around her shoulders. Amethyst pulled on Angela's arm and nodded to the pair, not waiting to see her reaction.

She spun back to the car, parked next to Rosalie's BMW that was already empty. Her mind was working at a million miles an hour. If they had spent time alone and were together the next day, there had to have been a lot of conversing going on. Bella had been so convinced that there was something going on with the family that she had been desperate enough to talk to Amethyst about it, despite the two girls clearly not having a relationship beforehand.

The brunette considered it throughout her morning classes, her mind tossing the idea back and forth. She greeted Alice happily when she walked into physics, glad they were sitting together again. When the small girl smiled at her and immediately launched into a story about their hiking trip over the sunny days, Amethyst knew she had just been ridiculous for thinking there was anything weird going on around the family.

Bella sat with Edward at lunch, a full tray of food between the two of them. She forced her gaze away from them, as the rest of the cafeteria was staring anyway. Her gaze floated over to the rest of the Cullens who had various states of annoyance on their faces, but didn't seem to be staring at their brother as if he was crazy.

There was only one option. Bella must not have told him her theory.

 **A/N:**

 **Hey guys, sorry for the slow update and the relative shortness of it. Things are a little bit insane in the world right now, so work has been equally insane. Just for the record, I hope all of you are safe and sound with your families.**

 **I'm hoping to get another chapter up tonight, as we're at a very interesting point in the plot. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and the battle Amethyst has going on in her mind.**

 **-Situation**


	30. Dare You To Move On A Date

Jasper caught her on her way to tutoring after school, saying Rosalie could wait a minute for him. Amethyst smiled and kissed him back, but her mind wasn't anywhere near as focused on him as it normally was anytime they were together.

"What's wrong," he asked softly, pulling away from her. Jasper gently tucked some of her hair back from her face, his eyes obviously concerned.

She sighed, reaching up to grab his hand so she could play with it. "I just have a lot on my mind, I suppose." Amethyst traced the lines of his palm, one of her favorite ways for simple contact between the two of them.

"Want to share?"

"I'm alright. I believe there's already been enough tension between us because of Bella." She gave him a tight lipped smile, but it fell when he tensed up.

Jasper sighed. "I'm sorry, for what she said to you."

"You know?"

He nodded slightly. "She wasn't exactly subtle about it."

"I just thought she hadn't said anything, after seeing her with Edward today."

"She definitely said something. We're not too pleased."

Amethyst snorted. "I wouldn't be either if someone accused my family of being vampires and still wanted to date my brother."

A multitude of looks passed over Jasper's face in an instant before he leaned down to kiss her again. "Enjoy tutoring," he said, walking faster than normal to get away from her.

Electric blue eyes followed his movements, but she shrugged it off and walked into the library, her mind turning to the geometry she had been helping Ray with throughout the semester.

Instead of going home that night, Amethyst drove herself to the local park, hiding under the pavilion and looking out into the rain. She and Jasper had obviously been going at their argument in different ways, but she supposed it was just because he hadn't expected her to say it out loud. She sat silently, pulling her knees up to her chest as the drizzle continued around her.

Instead of dwelling on the odd situation surrounding her, Amethyst considered the project she would do to keep her in the area over the summer. She had called the local college to see about enrolling in a sociology class and they had accepted her transcripts for consideration, but her grandfather seemed to lean toward doing an independent study through the school. They had talked about doing a sociolinguistic analysis of people in the area, how transplants spoke compared to Forks natives and how that compared to local reservations. Sam Uley had come up when she brought the idea up to her principal, with him saying she should contact the man to get samples from those closer to her age on the La Push reservation.

She sat there and made plans for a while longer, enjoying the gentle breeze that came with the sprinkling. When she finally got back to the house, Tyler wrapped her in a hug immediately. She patted his back in surprise.

"Always come straight home," he said softly into her ear.

Amethyst pulled her eyebrows together. "I'm sorry, I just wanted time to think. Is everything okay?"

"Alice Cullen called here looking for you and seemed very panicked. I assumed you were at tutoring and told her you'd call when you got home. But then you didn't get home and you weren't with Angela or at the library or at the school and I didn't know what to do." She frowned when he squeezed her, wrapping her arms around him as well.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I was at the park. I didn't mean to make everyone panic."

"Why did you go to the park?"

"I told you I wanted time to think. I'm not going to have any time to myself when track starts at the end of the month."

Tyler sighed. "I know. Just with basketball being over I'm home all the time and you're never here and we don't even always go to conditioning. It feels like the only time we spend together is when we run, and half the time we don't even talk about anything."

"I'm sorry," Amethyst said again, surprised by his honesty. "What about Mondays and Fridays after work. One day a week you choose what we do and I pick it the other one."

"I'd like that." He finally released her, smiling slightly. "Now go call Cullen before she has an aneurysm."

She kissed his cheek before pulling away, taking the cordless receiver into her room. Dialing Alice's number, she prepared herself for the barrage that was likely if the girl had truly been as panicked as Tyler made her seem.

"Where were you?"

The masculine voice surprised her. "Jasper?"

"Alice tried to call you here, at school and at the library and she couldn't find you. Where were you?"

"I was at the park."

"That's it?"

She sighed. "Yes, of course that's it. I don't lie to you, Jasper."

There was a pregnant pause between the two of them before he sighed. "I'm sorry." His voice was soft.

"I know and I've already forgiven you. I just wish you would tell me what's going on in your mind. You seem so tense lately."

"I don't mean to. I've just had a lot on my mind."

"We all have." That seemed like the understatement of the century.

Jasper hummed his agreement. "Come over tomorrow."

"I can't. I ditched conditioning on Tuesday and we're supposed to go at least once a week."

"What about after work on Friday?"

"Tyler and I wanted to start spending more time with each other and I promised him we could."

The laugh that came through the earpiece made her cringe. "Amethyst, do you want to be in this relationship?"

"Of course I do Jasper. I love-" Electric blue eyes widened in shock as she realized what was about to fall out of her mouth. She quickly made herself change course. "I love being with you. When we have moments of just us, they're the best parts of my day."

The two were silent again for some time.

"If you don't mind me smelling, we can go out to dinner or something tomorrow after track. It'll end like three hours after school at the latest."

"How about you let me take you to Port Angeles. We can do dinner and a movie."

"Like a real date?"

A smile began to stretch across her face, and she heard one in his voice as well. "Like a real date. It's about time I get to show you off."

"Will you give me time to come home and shower after track then?"

"Darlin', I'll give you all the time in the world."

Her heart melted. "I do declare, that sounds like a darn good time to go hog wild. I reckon we ought to get on that."

"Don't get sassy with me," Jasper said, but his laugh kept the bite away. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow indeed."

Amethyst walked downstairs with the phone, placing it back in the cradle with a smile on her face. She curled up next to Tyler on the couch, almost ending up in his lap when he wrapped his arm around her. Laughing, she struggled to get out of his grasp, as he had only pulled her so close so he could keep playing games.

"Let me go," she laughed as she pushed at his encircled arms lightly, not actually trying to ruin his game.

Tyler tried to see around her wriggling body, humming in annoyance. "You just totally butchered my kill streak."

"Good," she said, ducking under his arms to escape the hold. "You shouldn't be killing things anyway."

"Are you going vegan now?"

Amethyst cuddled back up into his side. "No, I like steak too much. It was just a thought."

They sat there for a while longer, the brunette barely watching the game. Instead, she contemplated the words that had almost escaped her mouth on the phone. Her relationship with Jasper technically began in December, but they didn't actually get to be together and talk until early January. That had ended before the end of the month, and they had just made up a few days ago. Did she love him?

"I love Jasper Hale," she said softly, testing out the way the words sounded.

Tyler snorted. "Little bit to the party there, dear."

Amethyst leaned away from him. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That Angela wouldn't make a bet with me about when you would realize it so I made one with Eric and Mike."

"That's rude."

He chuckled with a shrug. "I appreciated knowing something you didn't. It isn't a feeling I always get to experience."

"That's not true," she said without even processing his words. "Does everyone know?"

"You didn't stop staring at him for a month. If you weren't staring, he was." Tyler pulled her back into his side. "You've probably been in love with him since New York."

Amethyst felt as if she couldn't breathe. She was more than happy to be with Jasper, but loving him? Did she even know what it was really like to love someone passionately?

Sleep was rocky that night for the girl who had to drag herself out of bed to run in the morning. Tyler reminded her to keep it shorter so they wouldn't gas themselves before conditioning, but she didn't even notice the pavement under her feet. Neither of them were even breathing hard when they got back to the house, silently taking their turns in the shower.

Amethyst stood in front of her wardrobe and stared down her clothes, not finding any of them appropriate. She stood there for a solid five minutes, not touching any of her clothes.

"You know you aren't going out until after practice, which means you have time to come home and change."

She didn't think twice about the fact Tyler had pushed open her door to find her in just a towel. "What do you wear when you're in love with someone?"

"Preferably something more than a towel, unless you want more attention than just Jasper's."

"You are horribly unhelpful when it comes to clothes," Amethyst huffed, not turning to him.

Tyler chuckled. "Just wear jeans and some shirt. It literally doesn't matter."

She reached into her closet, her fingers running over a top thoughtfully. Smiling, she told him to shut the door before dropping her towel to get dressed. Amethyst left her hair natural and only bothered with concealer to hide the worst of the scars on her face before grabbing a pair of heels and walking out of her room confidently.

Tyler raised an eyebrow when he handed her a water, Gatorade and power bar for her gym bag, and then another power bar and her tea for breakfast. "Not feeling so cold anymore, are we?"

"Not at all," Amethyst said with a small smile, picking up both of their bags to toss into the back of the Sentra. The brunette stepped back inside to take her medicine and test her blood sugar before they were on their way to school.

She felt eyes on her all day, but there was nothing in the dress code against her outfit. The girl walked confidently from class to class, covering her inner dialogue about her feelings with a smile.

When she went to meet Tyler for lunch, the tan boy had company waiting with him. Jasper's stare pierced her the entire walk down the hallway, sending delightful shivers down her spine. He didn't break eye contact even when she stood directly in front of the two of them, one of her eyebrows quirked.

"I'll meet you inside," Tyler said quickly, going into the lunch room without her.

Amethyst allowed a small smile to play over her face. "May I help you?"

"You could always go put more clothes on."

Laughing, she pulled him away from the main drag into another nook they had discovered. "You're telling me you don't like it?" The girl reached out for one of his hands, shivering when she placed it on the bare skin of her waist.

"It's not that I don't. It's that every boy does." Jasper backed her into the wall, his other hand finding her sliver of skin as well.

"It's just a little bit of skin," Amethyst defended slightly breathlessly. Her dark jeans rested on her hips, while she pulled on a black cami that cut off just below her chest. Over top of that, she had a long sleeved white wrap top that ended about two inches above her jeans. She loved the outfit, and hoped he would as well.

His entire body pressed up against her at that point, and she was sure her heart was going to beat out of her chest. "Just a little bit of skin that creates enough hormones that you can practically scrape them off the walls." Jasper's cold hands slid the slightest bit up under her top, sending very good feelings through her.

"Forget about them." Amethyst was desperate for him to kiss her at that point.

"Darlin', they were never even a thought."

And then their lips were together, desperately seeking more. She threaded one hand through his wavy blonde locks and grabbed a fistful of his soft shirt with her other hand, loving that he had worn a v-neck t-shirt under his vest.

Jasper kept her pinned against the wall when he finally pulled away, his lips moving to her neck. Amethyst moaned under her breath as he yanked her hips toward his, removing all the space between their bodies.

"So I take it we're still on for tonight," she gasped out as his lips continued to move down toward her collarbone.

His chuckle rattled both of their bodies as he finally pulled his lips away from her skin, pressing one more kiss to her lips. "You couldn't keep me away."

Amethyst softly pushed him away, tangling their fingers together as she led him back through the empty hallway to the cafeteria. "All of that over a bit of skin? I can't wait for the summertime," she said, grinning at his groan.

"Don't tease me." His voice was deeper than normal, and she entertained the idea of spending their entire lunch time in the corner before her stomach protested.

Amethyst grinned weakly at him when she realized how audible the growl was, pressing a kiss to his cheek before getting into the very end of the line to grab herself food. She wiggled her fingers at Edward and Bella as she passed, Edward giving her a very bemused look. Tyler gave her a similar one when she sat down next to him, but Angela giggled and blushed, making a smile work back over her face.

Conditioning that night was rough. Starting out in the weight room, the group spend about an hour getting warm and working on their upper body, to keep balance in the workout. Amethyst went out with the distance runners, who had to run 20 laps around the track, which ended up being close to five miles. But if each individual didn't keep a consistent speed or shave time off their previous lap, the entire group had to add an extra 100 meters. Amethyst glared at Tyler who was working with the sprinters when they finally finished their run, her hands on her knees with her chest heaving.

Even after warm down, Amethyst didn't completely have her breath back and she collapsed into Tyler's car. He chuckled at her as he started the car, not saying anything.

The girl glared at him out of the corner of her eye. "How long did it take you to do a 100 today?"

"I got down to 15.28," he said happily. "How did your 8,000 meters go?"

She smiled slightly. "Every one of my 100 meters was under 16 seconds."

"Why aren't you a sprinter again?"

"Because distance is more fun."

Tyler glanced at her after he merged onto the interstate and snorted. "I can see that."

Amethyst found herself back in a towel in front of her closet not too much later. Her outfit for school had been fun, as had Jasper's reaction, but she wanted something nicer for the first official date.

She walked past Tyler to get the phone, smacking his head when he muttered something about how she never seemed to be dressed anymore. Amethyst typed in Alice's number quickly, tapping her foot as she waited for the girl to pick up.

"Need help picking an outfit?"

"I'm so desperate right now," she said with a small sigh. "I want to look really nice, but we're also going to Port Angeles so it isn't exactly the opera."

Alice hummed softly. "Well obviously I'm going to put you in blue. Go with like a navy blue, that'll really make your eyes pop."

She pulled out the dresses that were that color. "That leaves us with three options."

"Go."

"We have a dark blue knee length with lace shoulders."

"Sounds too old."

Amethyst snorted. "We also have a lighter blue halter sundress and a long sleeved stretch dress."

"How do you feel about showing off your scar?" Alice asked, bringing up a point the brunette hadn't even considered.

"I don't think I care when it comes to Jasper. I know he isn't going to judge me for it either way."

"Sexy or flirty?"

She groaned. "That's why I called you. I needed help with deciding."

Alice giggled, but quieted down for a moment. "Sexy," she finally announced. "Cute can work for any time."

Amethyst grabbed her stretch dress, nodding in approval. "You're the best."

"And I'm never going to let you forget it. I'll send Jasper over in about half an hour."

She laughed as they hung up, putting the phone down on her dresser as she applied her makeup. Amethyst kept it much more natural, highlighting her eyes just enough and only bothering to cover her scars. She kept her lips natural, using petroleum jelly just to make sure they weren't too dry.

After sliding her dress on, the brunette curled her long locks quickly, running her fingers through them to get her desired look when there was a knock at the door. Amethyst grabbed her silver strappy heels and slid on her necklace and bracelet before making her way down the stairs, reminding herself to breathe evenly.

Jasper was wearing a navy blue button down, a choice she had a sneaking suspicion Alice had helped him make. He wore the same grey vest from earlier with a grey tie, and his dark washed jeans allowed his boots to peek out ever so slightly. She forced her feet to keep moving toward him, loving the way his eyes stayed locked on hers. His crooked grin made her heart skip a beat as she slid her hand into his offered one.

"Hi there," Jasper said in his wonderful drawl.

Amethyst leaned up to kiss him, not having as far to go because of her heels. She broke away a moment later. "I thought you said I was the one who sucked at hello's."

Tyler cleared his throat a moment later, but the brunette rolled her eyes and flipped him off as she leaned up to kiss Jasper again, breaking away in surprised when a flash triggered.

"Nice, that one's a keeper." He laughed when she rolled her eyes, grinning slightly at him anyway. "Come on now, awkward prom pose time."

Jasper was still smiling down at her when he pulled her closer gently guiding one of her hands up to his chest and keeping his over top of it. Both of them let their free hands wander to the other's waist, trying to pull the other closer until Tyler's voice broke through the fog again.

"I said awkward prom pose, not porn shoot."

Amethyst laughed, shoving the camera away from him. "I think that'll be plenty of pictures, thanks Mom."

"Tonight, I'm Dad, too." Tyler pointed sternly at Jasper. "Have her home by midnight at the latest."

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a little late? It is a school night."

"It is, but you still deserve to have fun."

"Goodbye, Tyler," Amethyst said loudly, pulling Jasper out the door behind her.

A Mercedes was sitting outside in the darkening evening, making the brunette raise an eyebrow at her date.

"I told Carlisle it was a special occasion," he said softly, wrapping an arm around her waist. "He was more than happy to share."

Amethyst reveled in the contact, allowing Jasper to open the door for her since the rain had come to a complete halt. The boy adjusted the heat for her when they were inside the car, but she turned it back down and rolled down the window. He raised an eyebrow but grinned as he steered the car to Port Angeles, breathing in the fresh air blowing through the car.

They went to the movie first, but the brunette could barely say what it was they watched. Jasper had paid for the tickets and they sat in a corner of the theatre, his cold fingers tracing patterns on the exposed part of her thigh. She memorized the drawings he made and the way it made her feel before giving up toward the end of the movie to pull his lips down to hers.

When the movie was over, the two were the last ones to leave the theatre. Amethyst stayed tucked into Jasper's side as they walked in the chilly air, enjoying the view.

"I've really enjoyed your outfit choice today."

The compliment was subtle and yet direct, very much like the boy who made it. "I enjoy you every day," Amethyst said softly.

Jasper stopped their progress, turning her so they were face to face. She met his eyes and smiled slightly, tilting her head in a question.

"Yesterday on the phone." His voice was so soft and alluring, the brunette drew herself closer thoughtlessly. "You were going to say something."

"I was going to say a lot of things."

"There was one very specific statement you were about to make."

She sighed slightly. "There was."

"I need to know if you meant it."

His eyes had never been that open to her before. She could see all of his emotions written in them, and it drove her a bit crazy. They showed concern, happiness, anxiousness and one other emotion she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"I've spent a lot of time thinking about it," Amethyst admitted, keeping her gaze steady. "And I realized I'm not entirely sure what it's like to be in love with someone. I've loved people before, but I've never been in love."

"Tell me how you're feeling," Jasper pleaded.

She had no idea how she would say no to that. "I feel terrified when I'm with you in the best way possible. Like any second, we could be launching ourselves over a cliff, dropping down that first dip on a roller coaster. I've never felt more out of control than when I've been near with you. But I've also never felt safer. You make me feel as if I'm untouchable, as if no one would dare look at me in the wrong way." The brunette shook her head slightly, a small laugh escaping from her lips. "It's like you give me the best high possible and I can't ever get enough of it."

Jasper's lips cut her off from saying anything more, one of his hands on her chin while the other wrapped around her waist to pull her closer. They both ignored the people around them on the pier as they removed all space between the two of them.

When the blonde pulled away, a small sound of protest left Amethyst's lips. He gently brushed it away with a small smile. "I love you, too."

The two found a much better use for their mouths than speaking for quite a while longer.


	31. Dare You To Move At The Dance

Amethyst realized she wasn't hungry when they made their way back up the pier, and Jasper insisted he wasn't either. The pair climbed into Carlisle's Mercedes and headed back to home, windows still rolled down.

The girl undid her heels before pulling her knees to her chest. Her eyes wandered over Jasper, committing the moment to her memory. He looked over and smiled at her, offering his hand. She took it and gently dragged her fingers along the creases. The radio was playing quietly and she felt utterly at peace with the world.

When they pulled up to the house, Amethyst leaned over first. She pressed a long kiss to his lips before placing a much softer one on his cheek, enjoying his sweet scent.

"Goodnight," she said softly, pulling away.

He smiled. "Goodnight, darlin'. Thank you for tonight."

As she closed the door, Amethyst licked her lips nervously, looking back through the open window. "I love you," she said softly.

"I love you," Jasper repeated, reaching over to gently trace the curve of her face. She leaned away and watch the car pull down the street before making her way inside.

The brunette changed into her favorite sweats and a tank before sliding into her covers, leaving her hair loose on her pillow. Pure happiness was a relatively new feeling, and she contemplated the multitude of ways her life had changed since she moved to Forks for just a moment, before her brain was taken over by sleep.

Friday, she and Jasper stared each other down across the lot, small smiles on both of their faces as he made his way inside to his class. He tossed her a wink before turning a corner and disappearing from sight, making her smile grow.

"You know, I'm pretty sure eye sex isn't allowed on school grounds," Tyler whispered, making her throw an elbow into his stomach.

At lunch, Edward and Bella sitting together made her wind whirl. She couldn't believe Edward had still decided to date the girl despite what she had said about their family. Once again, she found herself contemplating the issue before getting dragged into a conversation about the dance by Mike.

"Amethyst, you should really come, too. We can do the whole group thing, and then it won't be weird that you and Bella don't have dates."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You think I couldn't get a date? And that's why I'm not going?"

"Well you obviously don't have one, which is proof enough for me."

"Oh, yes, let's totally forget the fact that I have work all day and that it might take precedence over a school dance."

Eric frowned. "You work with Angela and she's taking the day off. I'm sure your boss wouldn't mind."

"I'm sure she wouldn't, but I also need my full eight hours on my paycheck. You guys seem to be forgetting I have bills to pay."

Both of the boys fell silent for a moment, but Mike recovered first.

"Regardless, you never even considered a date. You kissed the one dude that one time but nothing's happened since."

"Hey," Tyler said, jumping into the conversation with a stern look. "Drop it, Mike."

"You've kissed someone?" Lauren had barely spoken to Amethyst the entire semester, and she found herself preferring it that way.

Angela mediated for her. "There are plenty of other couples with enough drama that no one really needs to jump into Amethyst's life."

"Other couples?" Eric caught, and Angela's face fell, realizing what she had said. "You mean there's something Miss NYC's been hiding from us?"

Amethyst rolled her eyes, quickly figuring out how to deflect him. "You caught me," she said, leaning over to wrap her arm around Angela. "We haven't been sure how to tell everyone, and I'm not attending the dance so I won't have to see Angela wrapped in your arms and have my heart broken."

"Hot," Mike said with a raised eyebrow, but Tyler smacked him over the back of the head.

Eric was not to be distracted, though. "You're hiding something. Is it Cullen?"

"Both the Cullens are taken, in case you haven't noticed." She gestured over toward Edward.

"You're dodging the question."

"You're prying into my personal life."

"I'm a journalist, it's what I do."

"Actually, I'm decently sure I have a right to privacy."

"I have a right to private information if it's newsworthy."

Amethyst glanced over to the Cullens table, annoyance written all over her face. The four of them were staring at her, but she specifically sought out Jasper. "You want newsworthy? Fine." She stood up and walked to the other end of the cafeteria, noticing Alice was looking back and forth between her and Jasper rapidly. She was done with hiding around corners of the school with him, and decided it was time for some answers.

The boy went to say something to her when she reached the table, but she grabbed both sides of his face and pulled his lips to hers.

It was a happy place for her, when she could kiss Jasper. It made all her stress leave her body and she always felt as if she was breathing a little easier. He was kissing her back from his sitting position, one hand reaching up to cup her cheek. When she finally pulled away, he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry, just wanted to prove a point."

He chuckled. "Don't be sorry in any sense."

Amethyst smiled at him, but noticed Rosalie was glaring at her as hard as she could out of the corner of her eye. She met her gaze, only slightly intimidated by the intensity of the look she was receiving.

"You should be sorry. Why can't you just stay out of things?" The blonde shoved her chair back and stomped out of the cafeteria, Emmett quickly following with an apology tossed over his shoulder.

The brunette sat down in one of the open chairs. "I wasn't expecting that."

Alice looked nervous. "I'm sorry, Rosalie is just so accustomed to it being just us and it rattles her that two people have become important to our families in such a short span of time."

Amethyst turned her gaze to Edward and Bella, her mind spinning with information about the other girl. She had accused the family of something they had all seemed to brush off so easily, but Rosalie hated the two of them seemingly equally. However, her eyes were drawn more to Edward, who was staring at Alice with the same worried look on his face. She glanced between the two before sighing and turning to Jasper.

"Look. You guys hide a lot of information from me, and I've dealt with it because I've enjoyed having my relationship with you. I also care about all the members of your family, and don't want them to leave my life either, but I need the truth. Alice is very good at half truths, but I know you've lied to me. I love you, okay? So tell me the truth."

Jasper's face began to take on a similarly nervous appearance. "Amethyst, this isn't really the time or place for this conversation."

"Would you rather be hiding in a corner again? Since that's all you do with me?"

"If I remember correctly, you just kissed me in front of the entire cafeteria."

She rolled her eyes. "Because I was tired of feeling like a secret. You've said you love me and yet you and your family continue to lie to me." Electric blue eyes switched to Alice quickly, noting the guilty look on her face. "No offense, but I'm tired of the crap and I want to know what's going on with you guys."

"Drop it," Jasper said with a harsh voice, leaning toward her.

"I will not."

"Yes, you will. I told you, this is not the time or place for you to be questioning us like this."

"Would you rather me scream out to the entire cafeteria that you're vampires? Because that seemed to work for Bella," Amethyst hissed back. "I'm done playing games and I'm done with questions."

Alice reached over to put a hand on her arm, but the brunette shoved it off in annoyance. The small girl put it back with a much tighter grip that time, forcing her friend to turn to look at her.

"Listen to me. You are making a scene. If you want answers, come over after work today and we'll give them to you."

"Why is this such a huge secret? Why can't you guys just be straight forward with me for once?"

"Because Bella tried that and it didn't work."

Silence settled between the two girls. Alice had a hard look on her face, daring the girl to react. She turned to look at Jasper, who had a very similar look on his face.

"You're kidding me."

"Amethyst, listen to me."

"No, you listen to me." She stood on shaky legs. "I don't know what kind of games you guys are playing, but I'm over them."

Jasper stood with her, his voice quiet but urgent. "You have to listen. You've been willing to lie for our family before and you've proven that you care about us. I was the one who was being selfish, trying to keep you out of the less pleasant part of our lives."

"You're insane," Amethyst said, tears in her eyes as a laugh escaped her lips. She shook her head as she backed away, trying to figure out how to get away from them. "You're literally insane."

"Please, just listen," Alice begged, but she wasn't going to stay with them a second longer. Amethyst left the cafeteria in a hurry, her mind whirling.

When she broke into the girl's bathroom, she stared to grasp for air, turning the sink on and splashing water onto her face. It had to be some kind of giant prank. Vampires? The Cullens were vampires? It just wasn't possible.

They had been to her house, having gone inside without her inviting them in. Silver obviously had no effect on them; Jasper touched her necklace on a regular basis. She had been to their house and there wasn't a coffin in sight, not to mention the fact the Cullens were at school during the day. Amethyst searched for other stereotypes of vampires, feeling puke begin to well up inside her when one came to mind.

After she emptied her stomach of the food from that day, she shakily wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Blood. Vampires survived on blood. It seemed to be one of the two unifying factors of all stories, aside from the fact vampires were immortal. She pulled her knees to her chest, still shaking. If that was true, the Cullens very well could have been just saving her for their next dinner. Her stomach lurched again at the thought, Amethyst finding herself staring into the toilet bowl once more.

Even when the bell rang, the brunette stayed in the bathroom, trying to sort her mind out. It seemed so impossible that vampires could actually exist, much less be around so many humans without killing them. Her mind turned back to Carlisle and his job, wondering how exactly that would be possible if he was a vampire. She didn't want to accept that it was true, but Alice had all but said it to her.

Amethyst walked out of the bathroom just before the final bell, not wanting to see anyone as she made her way to her car. She entertained the thought of skipping work for a moment, as they would know she was there. However, deciding it was work it for the money, the brunette climbed into her car and pulled out of the lot before students had left their classes.

Despite enjoying her job, she wished it was more difficult on a day such as that one. Anything to keep her mind off the thoughts that were attacking her in all directions would be a relief, but they didn't come as she mindlessly carried books back to their spots.

Tyler was waiting for her again when she got home. "What happened?"

"I got sick," she said, walking around him and up the stairs.

"That's it? You kissed Jasper, got into a pretty big argument from the looks of things, skipped your classes and then went to work?"

"That about sums things up." Before she closed her door, she turned to Tyler curiously. "Did you happen to hear any of the argument?"

He shook his head. "No one did. It was weird, the cafeteria was completely silent other than you guys but I guess you were far enough away and arguing quietly enough no one heard anything other than what the blonde girl shouted."

"Rosalie," Amethyst corrected automatically, her mind reeling.

"Yeah, I suppose. Is there anything I can do? You look awful."

"Just what every girl wants to hear," she muttered, but he simply shrugged kind of apologetically. "Do we have any ginger ale in the house? My stomach is practically upside down."

Tyler came back a few moments later with her soda, headache medicine and stomach medicine. He laid next to her on the bed, pulling the girl into his side.

"I'm sick, you should go away," Amethyst muttered into his chest.

He chuckled. "It's Friday and we promised to spend time together. Besides, I'm not leaving you alone like this."

As they laid there for hours, Amethyst wondered what she did to deserve Tyler in her life. Despite his obsession with Bella, the boy was truly one of the greatest people she knew. He didn't push her for information, but challenged her on their runs and often in the government debates.

"Why couldn't I have fallen in love with you?" she asked, breaking one of their silences.

"You did. It's just really different." She turned her face toward him, waiting for him to continue. "You loved me instantly, because I just brought such sunshine into your life."

"I remember that very differently."

Tyler chuckled, pulling her closer. "But there wasn't ever really a chance for attraction between us. We were both too stubborn, and quite frankly you were quite a bitch at the beginning."

"Now that, I remember you telling me very clearly." The two laughed together that time. "But what do you mean I loved you instantly?"

"Our friendship took no time to build. As soon as you were willing to let me in, I considered you my best friend, and you seemed to think of me the same way. I've loved you for a long time, Amy. And I've known you love me, too, exactly the same way as you love Angela."

Amethyst's lips quirked up at the nickname that she had only heard from her grandparents before. "I don't know, I had Mike going for a minute there today."

Tyler stayed in her room that night, both of them accidently falling asleep on her bed. She stuck a note to his forehead before going out running by herself, determined to get a full eight miles in before work.

She tried to occupy her mind with thoughts of Tyler and their night instead of school. He would have left for work by the time she got home, but she didn't really revel in the thought of being home without him.

Amethyst waved to Chloe on her way out, rushing home to change as quickly as possible. She pulled out a raspberry knit skater dress with a cutout back. The y-straps kept the material up, despite exposing most of her back, but the round neckline was high enough to keep her scar covered. She did her makeup dramatically, really pushing out her eyes. Instead of her typical jewelry, she grabbed two bangles and a locket she had received from her grandparents, pushing the earrings Tyler had given her for Christmas into her ears.

Nodding at herself in the mirror, she ran a brush through her hair, thankful she had taken the time to straighten her long locks that morning. The girl pulled on a pair of nude flats and grabbed a cardigan just in case she got cold.

When she pulled into the parking lot, Amethyst rethought her decision for a minute. As much as she didn't want to be alone, a school dance also might not have been an ideal place to hide. She took a deep breath, convincing herself it didn't matter, and climbed out of her car to walk toward the gym.

Inside, she spotted Jessica and Mike first, who looked to be on rocky grounds. While the girl was staring adoringly at him, he seemed much more intent on greeting his friends and looking at the other girls. She found Angela and Eric next, who seemed to be having a much better time. Tyler was dancing with Lauren, a fact that surprised the brunette much less because of the information Jessica shared. Finally, her eyes found Ben standing alone by the punch bowl. She walked over to him, smiling when he noticed her.

"Wow," he said, looking her up and down. "That dress looks fantastic on you."

"You clean up quite well yourself," she said, bumping him with her shoulder.

"I thought you weren't coming."

Amethyst huffed quietly. "I didn't think I was either."

Ben looked at her for a moment longer before shrugging slightly. "Feel like dancing?"

As the music picked up, they slowly joined with their other friends. All of them greeted Amethyst slightly warily, but she ignored their looks and just kept dancing. It didn't matter who she was with, as long as she kept moving, her mind wouldn't wander. Everyone was more than happy to share their dates with her, but Tyler cut in to one of her dances with Mike, explaining to her quietly that he didn't like exactly how much the boy seemed to enjoy that her dress had no back.

The dance wrapped up at 11, but the group went over to Mike's house instead of calling it a night. His parents were awake and made them milkshakes and popcorn as the group watched a movie in the living room.

Amethyst leaned against Angela on the couch, grateful for her friend not being angry she had danced with Ben multiple times.

"Whatever happened yesterday, I'm sorry I didn't come after you."

She smiled at the taller girl. "Don't worry about it, okay? Being here with me tonight is more important than anything that happened yesterday."

The brunette ended up regretting her choice to go to the dance the next morning. After not getting home until close to 2 a.m., getting up at 7 to run seemed impossible. She let herself sleep in until 9 when she finally pulled herself out of bed to the shower.

At work, Amethyst sat behind the desk and checked the status of all of their books, making a list of calls she would make for overdue books. She just hung up on her last call when the phone rang, making her sigh.

"Hello, Forks Public Library, this is Amethyst speaking. How may I help you?"

"Amethyst, I need you to listen to every word I say right now."

The brunette glanced back at Chloe's office, noticing the woman wasn't in it. "I really don't want to speak with you right now."

"I know, and that's an issue I can deal with another time. But please, it's important."

"Jasper, please, I said I didn't want to do this."

"You're in danger and I need to know you're safe."

She paused. "What do you mean I'm in danger?"

"My family and I survive off animal blood instead of human blood. That's why we go to school and try to be normal and everything; we don't try to be murders. But there are multiple of our kind who don't see life the same way we do," Jasper said in a very rushed voice, making her head spin.

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"They found our family with Bella, and now they're tracking her. They want to kill her."

Amethyst's blood ran cold.

"Our scent is all around your house. You might be safe, because I think they're focused on Bella and Edward, but I don't want to take any chances. Do not go anywhere alone and do not leave you house unless it's daylight. They're much less likely to come after you if there could be witnesses."

"Why am I even supposed to believe you?" she hissed, glancing around to make sure there weren't any patrons nearby.

"Because I know that I am terrifying you and I wouldn't do this intentionally."

She pressed her lips together, knowing that he was right. "I still don't entirely understand any of this."

"And I promise you that I will explain everything to you as soon as I get back. I owe you a million explanations and a million apologizes and plan on giving them all to you the moment I can."

"You're leaving? Now?" Amethyst heard her voice break. The reality of everything was finally setting in and she was growing horrified.

Jasper sighed. "I'm so sorry, but I'm going with Bella to keep her safe. Alice and I are protecting her. Everyone else is at home, and they know they are to not let anything touch you. It would just be much better if you don't wander around alone and give them the chance to find you."

"Okay."

"Promise me."

She cleared her throat. "I promise you I won't wander around alone. I'll be safe."

"Good." He paused. "I love you, Amethyst, and I hate things are like this right now. But I promise you, no one will touch you and you will get all of your answers."

"Just come home safe," she basically whispered.

"I will. I won't ever forget where my home is." The two were silent for a moment. "Call Carlisle if you think anything's wrong, understand? He's more than happy to help you."

Amethyst scribbled down the number, her heart beating a million miles an hour.

"I still don't understand any of this, Jasper."

"I know, but thank you for trusting me."

"I love you," she whispered.

He responded to something off the phone quickly. "I love you, and it's killing me to do this. You deserve so much more. But I have to go."

The phone clicked off before she could even say goodbye, leaving her staring at the receiver in terror.

 **A/N:**

 **Hey guys. I've been reading through reviews and some of you are annoyed with the way I've been handling the vampire situation, so I wanted a chance to explain my thought process.**

 **Vampires are not a natural thought. I don't feel as if a normal, rational person would accept it when someone they don't even really know told them a person they were in love with was a vampire. And yes, she was making excuses to ignore the indicators. But remember, she made excuses when it came to her parents too. Amethyst hates grey area, and the idea that the Cullens are supernatural is a grey area. She of course she was going to laugh Bella off; she barely even tolerates the girl.**

 **I'm sorry some of you have been upset by this, but I stick by the way I wrote it. I hope you can still enjoy the story and this chapter specifically.**

 **-Situation**


	32. Dare You To Move Away From Love

Amethyst immediately broke her promise to Jasper, driving home by herself that night. Her eyes were wide open as she drove herself home, gripping the steering wheel as tightly as she could. As soon as she was in the house, the girl went up to Tyler's room and laid down next to him, interrupting his homework.

He chuckled, closing the books that surrounded him. "May I help you?"

"I just don't want to be alone."

"Rough day at work?"

"Rough life."

Tyler laughed again, rolling onto his back and pulling her into his side. "Because it's been so long."

"But it hasn't always been great," Amethyst muttered, balling up a handful of his shirt.

"Not that I'd argue with that, but did something specific happen today?"

For a moment, she really wanted to tell him about what was happening. Tyler had never been anything less than honest with her, and she had returned the favor. But this wasn't something she could talk about. Not only was the girl sure she would sound crazy, but it wasn't exactly her information to share. "Last night just really wore me out, and worked seemed longer than usual."

"I say we nap until dinner, then hit homework afterward. Sound good?"

"Sounds good," Amethyst said through a yawn. "I don't want homework at all though."

He chuckled before she drifted off to sleep. Even though she was panicked in the back of her mind, she knew there wasn't anything anyone could do, letting her mind shut down instead of panicking.

The Crowleys went out to pick up some barbeque that night, waking the teenagers up when they game back with the food. Amethyst loved that they almost always sat together to eat as a family, but her mind kept wandering to what kind of dangers might be around the house. Tyler needed her help with his math after dinner, and she finished up her problems and the paper she had due the next day.

She found herself staring at the ceiling that night, her eyes wide open. The brunette sighed and turned to her side, trying to find a more comfortable way to sleep. An hour later, she climbed out of her bed and went across the hall to Tyler's room, knocking quietly.

He was asleep when the girl walked in, so she shook him gently. Although seemingly disoriented, he mindlessly scooted over to give her room on the bed. Amethyst climbed in next to him and buried her face in his chest, her shoulders shaking slightly in fear.

"S'wrong?"

"Just a bad dream," she said shakily. "I don't want to be alone."

Tyler pulled her closer before drifting back to sleep. His presence allowed her to finally begin to relax, but sleep came in fits. Their run was short that morning, with the boy making her turn around only a mile out from the house.

"Something is definitely up with you," he said when they were back at the house.

Amethyst sighed. "I guess everything on Friday shook me more than I'm willing to admit. I also just feel like something bad is waiting to happen." The lie hurt her, but it was as close as she could get to telling him the truth.

"Why would something bad happen?"

"I don't know, because it's Forks and I'm me. I'm just really anxious."

Tyler chuckled as he pulled her inside and let her shower first.

The girl spent the rest of the next few days on edge. Even pricking her finger to test her blood sugar in the morning gave her a feeling of apprehension, terrified by the idea of the vampires Jasper had said were somewhere near her house.

When she saw him in the parking lot before school that Thursday, she sighed happily. Even though Amethyst was less than happy with the boy, she was grateful he was back safely.

Jasper approached her first, something he hadn't ever done before. The brunette took a step back when he got too close, not entirely comfortable with the idea of him not being human. He noticed and paused in his tracks, staring at her with concern on his face.

"I'll leave you two alone," Tyler murmured, heading over to the rest of their group.

Amethyst fiddled with the locket she was wearing mindlessly, waiting for him to say something.

"You aren't wearing your necklace," he said softly.

She shook her head. "I'm not sure how things are between us right now."

"Please don't say that."

"Why not? I'm not the one who was hiding something that would make you question everything."

Jasper sighed. "Will you come over today? We should really talk."

"We were planning on going to conditioning. Track season starts next week." Amethyst swallowed the lump in her throat, reminding herself not to lie to him. "And I'm not sure I feel comfortable at your house right now."

"Then let me take you out."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable being alone with you right now."

He was getting annoyed. "So you're just not going to let me explain anything? You're literally just going to shut down the first time something goes wrong?"

"The first time?" The brunette laughed bitterly. "Right, because we haven't had our share of fights. Because you haven't walked away from me before."

"Amethyst, please, this is different."

"Damn right it is." She shook her head, walking backward toward her first class. "I'll think about it."

The girl hurried away, blinking away tears that had started to build up in her eyes for no real reason. She avoided Alice in physics, ignoring every look the small girl sent her way.

At lunch, she picked at the apple she had purchased, contemplating the issue. Jasper was a vampire. She would have laughed out loud at the thought if she wasn't also so terrified by it. As a matter of fact, his entire family were vampires. He had something about them living on animal blood instead of human blood when they were on the phone, but she hadn't exactly had a chance to question him about it.

"Excuse me," Jasper's voice cut through her thoughts as he tossed a half smile at the crowd around the table. "Would you mind if I borrowed Amethyst for lunch today?"

No one said anything for a moment before Angela reached over to shove the girl out of her chair, making her glare at the tall girl as she stumbled up onto her feet. Grabbing her tray, she turned and walked in front of the boy over to an empty table that was far enough from prying ears, but not too far.

He smiled lightly as he sat down across from her. "You know, if I wanted to kill you, I would have already done it."

Amethyst stared at him, terrified. Every muscle in her body wanted to go back to her friends, but she felt more frozen than anything else.

Jasper seemed surprised by her reaction. "It was a joke. Calm down."

"Shitty joke," she breathed, pulling her feet up onto the chair and wrapping her arms around them protectively.

"I'm sorry."

"Then don't make it again."

He leaned back, obviously frustrated with her. "What am I supposed to do, Amethyst? Change who I am? There isn't much I can do about that."

She shook her head as she picked at her boots. "I just don't think this is a good idea. I don't think I can ever look at you the same way."

"Listen to me. You've told me, explicitly might I add, the way you feel. You've told me I make you feel safe. Why does that change because of what I am?"

"Because you are literally designed to kill me," Amethyst hissed, staring at him with tears forming in her eyes. "I've been afraid of people I love for long enough, thank you."

That created a long silence between the two of them. She almost regretted her words, but realized they were true. She tightened her arms, putting her face into her knees so she could calm her breathing.

The girl listened as Jasper stood up and walked away. She didn't know whether to feel relieved or heartbroken as his footsteps trailed away from the table.

However, they were back a moment later, creating a mix of anxiety and relief in her.

"I can barely keep up with your emotions," Jasper said, sliding something across the table to her.

Amethyst looked up from her knees to see a regular soda resting against her tray. She glanced up at him with a small amount of curiosity.

"Your sugar is dropping, and all the stress you're putting on your body isn't helping anything. Drink it."

She reached over and grabbed the bottle, screwing the top off slowly. After taking a small sip, she put the lid back on with a sigh.

"It's not normal."

"I know. And I want to give you answers, but you won't let me."

"I said I don't want to be alone with you. There's a big difference."

Jasper sighed. "There is, but it's also not a conversation I'm going to have here. Things are already dangerous enough as they stand right now."

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "No kidding."

"Please, don't shut me out." He leaned forward, reaching for her, but dropped back when she pulled even further away. "I do love you, Amethyst. And I know you love me. I don't want this to be where it ends for us."

"Did you ever even consider telling me before you made me fall in love with you?"

"No." The one simple word felt like a punch to her stomach. "I was never going to tell you. I wanted you to live a normal life, instead of dragging you into my mess. I also was trying to protect my family."

Amethyst wasn't in the mood for rationalizing. "How can you say you love me and treat me like this? We argue every other day at this point and you weren't ever going to really tell me who you are. That's not a healthy relationship."

"Alice is a fashion designer who cares about people with her entire heart. Emmett is a freakishly strong goofball who loves challenges. Rosalie loves her appearance and is fantastic under the hood of a car. Edward is a music lover who hates not knowing things. And I'm a history buff who is madly in love with you." Jasper stared at her evenly. "You know who we are, and we know you care about us. We aren't different just because of what we are."

"Except for the fact that you want to drink my blood," she muttered, surprised when he made a relatively disgusted face.

"I don't. Actually, none of us do. You smell… different."

The girl threw her hands up in frustration. "Great, so I'm a freak. Any other jokes or information you want to share? Because I'm two seconds from walking away and not looking back."

"Just give me a chance," he said, half rising from his seat as if he expected her to bolt off at any second. "We both deserve this."

She didn't look at him, but nodded slowly. "We meet on my terms."

"I'd never expect anything less."

"I'll listen, but I'm not promising anything."

Jasper didn't look pleased, but nodded.

"At the library. They have study rooms in the back. We can meet there today after conditioning."

"I'll be there," he said softly, watching her stand up as the bell rang. Amethyst grabbed the soda he had purchased for her, nodding her thanks, before walking off to gym.

She pushed herself harder than she had before at conditioning. Coach had them all doing shorts that day. Distance runners had to do 400 meters while hurdlers and sprinters all worked on their 100 meter lengths. Amethyst ran as hard as she could, knowing she was leading everyone before they even rounded the first corner.

Panting, she accepted her water bottle from her coach with a small smile, reminding herself to portion it out.

"Good times out there today, Ashford."

"Thanks, Coach." She poured some onto her neck as well, trying to cool her body off.

"Have you ever considered being a sprinter as well?"

Amethyst shook her head. "I started on distance and haven't ever touched anything else." She took another drink. "I was one of the top distance runners in New York, though, for whatever that matters."

Coach Leah snorted. "If you were one of the top there, you'll dominate the state here. But think about doing both. Colleges love versatility."

Amethyst considered her words while she was in the locker room. Did she really want to run track in college? It hadn't even occurred to her as a thought, but it didn't sound too bad when her coach mentioned it.

Tyler dropped her at the library after conditioning, and she told him not to wait because she would get a ride back. He waved as he drove off, leaving the brunette alone in the rain. She leaned against the wall under the overhang to wait for Jasper, her heart beginning to beat a little faster in a bad way at the thought of being home alone with him.

He didn't keep her waiting for very long, parking the silver Volvo in the lot before jumping out almost immediately. Amethyst watched him approach, noticing he was wearing her favorite t-shirt and jeans. She rolled her eyes at the realization, pushing the door open without waiting for him.

Lucky, the man at the circulation desk didn't seem to recognize Amethyst when she walked in, heading straight back to the study rooms. She could hear Jasper's footsteps behind her, leaving the door open to the room as she went inside to sit first. The girl purposefully positioned herself in the chair nearest the door, ready to leave the moment anything went wrong.

Jasper sighed as he took the seat across from her after closing the door tightly. He ran his fingers through his hair to get the water droplets out. Amethyst reminded herself not to smile when it stood up in odd directions after his motion.

He gestured toward her. "You're in control here."

"Tell me about the vampire thing."

Jasper snorted. "That's one way to put it. But my family and I are, in fact, vampires. I told you we survive on animal blood. We're rather different from most of our kind because we do so, but it's a better lifestyle than killing innocent humans constantly. We are immortal, with enhanced eyesight, hearing, scent, all that kind of stuff."

"But you go out during the day."

"We don't sleep at all, while many myths say we sleep during the day. Sunlight refracts off our skin differently, as it is less permeable than human skin, but it does not injure us."

Amethyst licked her lips nervously. "Is there any way to kill you? In defense?"

"As a human, no. A vampire has to be ripped limb from limb and burned, which no one of your species would be able to do. We're faster and stronger than you."

"And we don't even get any kind of warning about what you are?"

"We are built to be irresistible to humans. Our scent, our looks, everything is supposed to draw you in. The closest thing you get to a warning are our eyes. If someone survives on human blood, their eyes will be red. Our dietary choice makes our eyes golden." Jasper smiled slightly bitterly.

"And you thought it would be okay to keep this a secret from me."

"I told you, it was for the safety of my family. We haven't ever revealed ourselves to humans intentionally before. There have been cities where we have accidently left questions behind, but we've never confirmed what we are to a human before, much less two."

"But you decided to get involved with me," Amethyst accused.

"I did. We made a deal that I could be involved with you as long as it ended at graduation. You were always supposed to have your life and your options. I was never supposed to limit you in any way."

"So you were just going to drop me cold after graduation."

He winced at her tone of voice. "I was not to keep you from living your life. I can't move with you to go to school, so I was not supposed to hinder you instead. I was so desperate to have you in my life that I was willing to do anything to be with you."

"Including ultimately hurt me."

"Including keeping you safe. I've already told you, I would never intentionally hurt you."

Amethyst snorted. "Did you think just walking out after graduation wouldn't hurt me? There's a potential for us to be together for a year and a half before then. You really didn't think I would grow attached in that period of time?"

"No. It was never like that. I can't follow you, nor did I expect you to want me to. You've never shown any dependence on me, so I expected it to end mutually when you go to the school you pick."

"Is that why you were always hiding me in a corner?"

"Trust me, if I was normal, I would show you off to the entire world. But I'm not, so it was dangerous enough for me to just be with you. That's why Rosalie was so angry the day you kissed me in front of the cafeteria. She thinks Edward and I are insane," Jasper said with a small smile.

Amethyst found herself inclined to agree with the blonde. "What happened this weekend? Why did you have to leave? And where are Edward and Bella?"

"Bella is in the hospital. I already told you, we are not like most of our kind and three of them approached us while we were playing baseball with Bella on Sunday."

"Oh my god," the girl whispered, eyes wide as she pulled her legs to her chest.

"One of them was a tracker who got her scent. We had to keep her safe from them, so Alice and I took her away while the rest of our family worked to apprehend them here. Long story short, we ended up killing him, but Bella got a few injuries in the process of everything. She's in the hospital in Phoenix and Edward stayed with her."

"A few injuries?"

"She ran off to confront James herself instead of trusting us to help. I told you, a human cannot take on a vampire. My entire family was there to help, and she will completely recover."

"And so now I'm in danger, too. A danger I can do nothing to defend myself from."

Jasper sighed. "I swear, I will always do everything I can to protect you."

"Except for the fact you left me to go to the other end of the states to protect someone who isn't me." Tears began to well up in her eyes again from the fear, but Amethyst brushed them away impatiently.

"I would not have left you on your own. I don't ever want you to be on your own. But I had to help Edward. He was desperate to keep her safe, and Alice and I were the best equipped to travel with her."

"Why does your entire family love Bella more than me?" she spat. "Why is she so much more special than me."

Jasper reached over and put his hand on her leg, making her wince. He still didn't pull away. "Don't ever think like that. My family adores you. They were happy to spend time with you and see me happy. They made our first exception ever so I could have a relationship with you. Bella investigated more, found things out on her own that you never pushed us to share, so everything was different with her.

"You were working that day, a fact I am incredibly grateful for. Even if you hadn't been, you were still upset with me about everything. Bella reacted rather oddly to the situation, not freaking out. It made it easier for Edward to show her more about who we really are than I have been able to show you. It's not about anyone liking either of you more."

"But you guys had a very different reaction to her being around."

"She's what's known as a singer, where her blood is sweeter to a specific vampire. To Edward, she's the best thing that has ever existed. Her blood drives him insane in a way that he seems to be obsessed with, as if he can't get enough of it."

Amethyst cringed. "That's weird. And they're in a relationship?"

"You're also in a relationship with a vampire, if I remember correctly."

"But you said I smell weird and that you aren't after my blood. Not that it's any less weird to have that conversation, but it's at least about more than the way I smell between the two of us."

"You downright stank at first," Jasper said with a small laugh as he leaned away from her. "It was sometimes difficult to be around you because you literally smelled so bad."

"What changed?"

Amethyst watched as the smile slid off his face instantly. Her eyebrows pulled together, but as the silence stretched between the two of them, she realized.

"Oh."

"I'm sorry, Amethyst."

She nodded slowly. "You knew the entire time."

"What did you want us to do? You never told anyone, so we couldn't exactly jump in and help any earlier than we did."

"But you knew. You knew every time it happened."

"Please, listen to me. What could we have done? Tell police that we're vampires and that we knew you were being abused because your blood smelled spoiled? I've been telling you the entire time that we do everything we do to keep our family safe."

A tear slipped from her eye. "And here I thought you guys might actually be the good guys."

"You have to understand. You never said anything to a single person, so we couldn't help. If you would have said something, anything, we would have been able to help instantly. But you never gave us the chance." Jasper stood at the same time she did.

"Right. So it's all my fault like usual."

"No, Amethyst. It's never been your fault."

"You will drive the length of the country to keep Bella safe, but you wouldn't even keep me safe from my own house." Shaking her head, the brunette opened the door to the study room. "Don't follow me," she said softly, hurrying out of the library.

Amethyst ran all the way home in the rain, not caring about the rain or the traffic or anything as she fought to keep it all together until she finally reached the house when she collapsed on her bed, sobs shaking through her body until she was finally exhausted enough to pass out.


	33. Dare You To Move When You're Healthy

She was determined to cut the Cullens out of her life entirely the next day. They had done it to her before, so she could do it back just as easily.

Amethyst constantly was constantly replaying the conversation she had with Jasper in her mind, picking out different bits to analyze at different times. She barely took notes in any of her classes that day, instead dissecting their conversation.

At the library that weekend, she tried to stay back in the shelves and away from the study rooms. She tried to make it a habit to stay away from things that connected her to the boy too much.

The next week, Amethyst really made sure her attention was back on her studies and her friends. Track season was finally starting, and she was surprised to see she had made the team for the the 3,200 meter, mile, 100 meter, and the 4x400 meter.

Amethyst went to her coach while they were stretching out in the weight room. "Decided you wanted me to be a sprinter?"

Coach Leah smiled at her. "You have real potential there, Ashford. I want to see you keep pushing it."

"And if I don't make the cut?"

"We have other sprinters." Coach shrugged. "I really just want to push you. You said you were a good distance runner in New York, which I absolutely believe after seeing you all throughout conditioning. But I don't think anyone's ever really made you work yourself. Besides, you train distance every day at home, so doing sprints here will only help."

The brunette smiled at her. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, Ashford. Go get warm."

Stretching before and after running felt almost as good as the running itself. She loved being able to work the tension out of her muscles, and the action was just so simply pleasurable that it always made her feel better.

She ran sprints for the first time that day, surprised her times were toward the front of the pack. Three runners crossed the line ahead of her while six were still behind the girl. Amethyst grinned as Coach had them turn at the 100 meter and sprint back, knowing that was where her strength laid.

Tyler was hyped on their way home that night, telling her about his events. He had made the team for the 100 meter, 400 meter and 4x100, and was pumped to have so many events.

Amethyst laughed, cutting his babble off. "Do you want to switch up our morning routine? Since we both have sprinting events. You barely come with me on weekends so I can get my distance in on weekends, and we can do some midrange running during the week."

"I only don't go with you on weekends because of how early you get up," he accused, shoving one of his hands into her face.

"I don't get up early," she laughed as she swatted his hands away. "It's no earlier than we get up for school, and I have to go to work at 10. I don't have all day to lay around and sleep."

Tyler gave her an offended look. "Excuse you. I work hard on weekends."

"Yeah, on your games."

"And sometimes homework."

The girl snorted as they climbed out of the car in the driveway, racing inside to get the shower before Tyler.

Amethyst's life fell back into routine. She had switched her shift at the library to make room for track. So she stayed after school for practice Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, tutored and went to work Wednesday, and then spent her weekends at work. She loved being so busy, as it rarely allowed her mind to wander.

Her grandfather planned to fly out in April to discuss her custody arrangement with the court, which only left her with the responsibility of making sure they weren't lying to the court about her project.

That was how she found herself in the principal's office two weeks later before track practice. The head of the history department was sitting beside her, discussing how to handle her independent study.

"I just don't see how the project fits in with our curriculum," the man said, sitting back and crossing his arms.

"With all due respect sir, it's a an ethnographical study of sociolinguistics in the area. I'm studying the way the patterns of speech have deviated among those who are from Olympia, specifically Forks. Compare that to transplants and the people from local reservations, and you have a broad spectrum of potential research to document. It's a perfect project for a sociology class."

"But we don't teach anything like that here."

Amethyst had to remind herself to keep her annoyance out of her voice. "That's the reason we need this kind of project, because it will show other students ways that they can take their own research. More students should do independent studies. It looks really good to colleges."

The principal cut in at that point. "I agree with Amethyst. This project could prove to be very interesting for her, and could show a lot about the area. It's a great preservation of the culture in the area, and perfect for this summer."

"Fine," Mr. Wright replied with a very unhappy look on his face. "But what about course analysis? If she does it as an independent study for the summer, she still has to have a grade by the end of it."

"After all my research, I will submit my ethnography and my recordings."

Her principal nodded. "That will determine her grade for the entire course, but we will also require her to have weekly meetings with you if you would prefer."

"Bi-weekly," Mr. Wright murmured, making Amethyst press her lips together to hide a smile.

"Alright then. As far as I'm concerned, we are decided. Of course, Amethyst, you will have to come back toward the beginning of June to finalize everything, but I will write a report for the courts detailing your work." Her principal smiled at her. "Now, I believe you have to go to track practice while Mr. Wright and I finalize everything."

The brunette stood up, smiling. "I do. Thank you so much for your help." She hurried over to the gym, quickly apologizing to her coach as she went to change in the locker room.

She hummed under her breath as she worked on her physics homework that night, mindlessly picking at the nachos that were leftover from dinner. Angela was working on her homework across from the girl, while Tyler had spread out on the floor with his science work.

The boy slammed his book shut after a few minutes, surprising the girls.

"I am never going to be able to balance equations," Tyler announced, standing up and walking toward the fridge. "I just don't see how it's possible to make the stupid compounds match on each side when they're all over the place and it just doesn't make sense."

"Would you like some help?" Angela asked hesitantly.

He sat back down on the ground. "No." After opening his book, he sighed. "Yes, please."

Amethyst smiled slightly when her friend settled in next to Tyler on the ground, the two of them working through the chemistry assignment together. She wished she could balance equations again, but went back to work on her velocity equations with a small sigh.

After the boy seemed to get the hang of the equations he was working with, Angela slid back into her seat across from the brunette. Amethyst realized a pair of eyes were stuck on her and she glanced up, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"Staring won't help you see through my clothes."

Tyler coughed out a laugh while Angela blushed slightly, rolling her eyes at her friend. "I was going to ask if you're okay. But now I'm not sure I care."

The brunette laughed when Angela flicked some water at her, batting it away. "I'm fine. Why?"

"You just haven't said anything about what happened with Jasper and it's been quite a while. I know you don't like people to pry, but I want to know that you're okay."

"I'm fine." She wasn't, but she couldn't fully explain it to her friends. "We were just tired of fighting and decided it wasn't worth it."

Angela frowned slightly. "But you loved him."

"I did. I still do. But there are just some things you can't look past, and we ran into one of those situations."

Amethyst was grateful her friend was much too polite to pry any further, so they both turned back to their homework for a while longer.

As the tall girl was packing up for the night, she looked back to the brunette. "I'm planning on having a few people from school over for my birthday this weekend. I figured you could come home with me after work and help me set up before they all get there. Girls are welcome to spend the night, and then we can go back to work together again the next day."

"Sounds good to me." She smiled as she walked her friend to the door. "I'm sure we can drag Tyler over to make him set up as well. I didn't know you were an April baby."

Angela shrugged slightly. "I guess it suits me. Early April is when things really start to warm up and the rain normally calms down enough for us to actually spend time outside."

Amethyst smiled a bit at her friend, noting that it did indeed sound quite a bit like her friend. "I'll start making plans. Is your actual birthday this weekend?"

"No, it's Friday."

"Then we'll be sure to make Friday special, too."

Tyler was driving the girl home by himself because Amethyst wasn't feeling her best, so she waved them off before making her way upstairs slowly. She hummed quietly as she changed into her pajamas, not paying much attention to the actual tune. When she climbed into bed, she was completely exhausted, passing out almost instantly.

She blinked her eyes open slowly when Tyler shook her awake the next day, a very concerned look on his face.

"What's up?" she murmured, scrubbing at her eyes.

"You weren't making up when I shook you before the run, but I figured you were just exhausted so I let you sleep in. But you still weren't waking up easily when I got back and I was getting worried."

"Sorry, must just be exhausted." Amethyst pulled her blankets back up to her neck.

Tyler put a hand on her forehead. "When did you last test your blood sugar?"

"Yesterday."

"And?"

She sighed. "It was a bit low but I ate food yesterday so I thought it would sort itself out."

He didn't seem happy about her response. "I'm going to go get your meter, but you aren't going to school today."

"Why not?"

"You haven't even stood up in front of me and I still think you look super weak. You also haven't missed a day since your trial, so I think you'll be fine."

"But practice."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so determined to go to school? It's just any other Tuesday."

"I don't like missing school."

"But you're obviously not healthy. Stay here, okay?"

She nodded weakly, trying to pull the covers closer around her body. Amethyst was almost back to sleep when Tyler pushed her door back open, his hands full.

"Test your blood sugar, just to humor me." He passed the meter to her and she sighed, pushing the covers away so she could do her test. "I brought up your medicine, a couple of granola bars and a candy bar, some sports drink and soda for you so you can take your pick of things. There's also water just in case your sugar comes up and you just need a drink."

Amethyst frowned at the reading that showed up on her meter, quickly hiding it from the boy. He raised an eyebrow, giving her an accusatory look.

"You're right. It's low," she murmured, looking down.

"Is it so low you really feel as if you have to hide it from me?"

Electric blue eyes stared at the comforter, not making eye contact. She did everything right to care for her body, but her sugar just got out of control at times.

Tyler sighed and glanced at his watch. "I have to get to school. I might skip practice today, but either way I'll tell Coach what's going on. Call Mom if you get any worse, and test your sugar every few hours."

Amethyst nodded, letting him press a kiss to her temple before he left.

She forced down half a candy bar before falling back asleep. The girl felt slightly better when she woke up, testing her sugar to find it wasn't in the dangerous range anymore. She reached over and opened a soda that Tyler had left for her, sipping on it as she stared out the window at the pouring rain.

As she sat in bed, Amethyst considered the past few weeks. She had been so wrapped up in staying busy that she hadn't really taken the time to think about herself and how she was feeling.

Apparently, she wasn't eating the way she should have been, as was made obvious by her being confined to bed. It hadn't been intentional, but she realized she had been picking around food instead of eating as much, or as well, as she should. Other than that, the girl was healthier than she had been for quite some time.

Emotions were an entire different story. She had been reigning her emotions in the entire time, not allowing herself to actually feel anything. While Amethyst smiled and laughed with all of her friends, she wasn't actually feeling much of anything. It seemed so much easier than letting the same person hurt her again.

She hadn't as much as looked at Jasper since she walked away from him that day in the library, and she wanted to be happy about it. He had lied, manipulated and put a lot of other people ahead of her while she had considered him one of the most important people in her life. Amethyst hated the fact that she still loved him after everything, wishing there was a way to turn that off as easily as she could shut off her emotions.

The brunette sighed and sank back under her covers, figuring some more sleep on a rainy day would do her well. She didn't wake up again until Tyler gently shook her a while later, automatically making space on her bed for him. He climbed under the covers with her and pulled her close, dropping a kiss on the top of her head.

"Did you end up going to practice?" Amethyst murmured, her voice still thick with sleep.

"No, I told Coach Leah what was going on and she sent me home to check on you. How's your sugar?"

"It was better when I tested it around noon. I drank some soda before falling back asleep, though."

Tyler squeezed her gently. "You need to monitor that better."

"I've been trying, okay? This was not really my fault. I test every day and keep track of my medicine and eat properly most of the time and it just happens."

"Hey, I didn't mean to make you upset. I just get concerned."

The two fell silent as Amethyst pressed her face into his chest, silently apologizing.

"Jasper came over to ask where you were today."

She groaned. "I really don't want to talk about him."

"Angela was right last night. You haven't said anything about him since your relationship seemed to fall apart."

"And maybe there's a reason for that. Maybe I don't want to talk about what happened."

"Last time you didn't want to talk about something, it exploded in your face," Tyler reasoned.

The brunette sighed, knowing he was right. "It's not all my information to tell, though. There's some stuff about the situation that's private for Jasper."

"And I'll respect that. But spill what you can."

"Jasper really isn't who I thought he was. Not only did I find out he was lying to me, but he never even intended to tell me. I found out accidently through a third party. And then he pretended I hadn't found out for a while longer, only actually admitting it when I accused him in the cafeteria. And then when we sat down to talk about everything, I found out he had this whole plan about our relationship that he never wanted to tell me, including how we were apparently going to break up after graduation as if nothing before that mattered."

The pair were quiet as Tyler took in everything she said, squeezing her side gently after a minute. "It sounds like he was trying to stay out of your way."

"No. He lied to me and manipulated me. That's not staying out of my way. As far as I'm concerned, that's damn near abuse."

"Give it some time and then talk to him again."

"Why?"

"People could see how in love you two were, even if that didn't know exactly was going on. The way you two were when you were together just worked. I don't want you to permanently lose that sparkle in your eye. It's way too pretty."

Amethyst stared at Tyler for a few moments, looking at the small smile that quirked the side of his mouth. She chewed on the inside of her lip for a moment as she took in his features. His brown eyes were almost always gentle when they studied her, unless they held a mischievous look. His brown hair was lighter than her own, but his naturally tan skin was much darker.

Making up her mind, the girl leaned up and kissed him. He seemed surprised when she pressed her lips against his, but he didn't do anything to push her away. When she finally pulled away on her own, he had a very pained look on his face.

"Don't do that."

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Because you're still in love with him, no matter what he did. And you can't go falling in love with two people."

Amethyst felt tears prickle her eyes. "Who says it's like that?"

"I do," Tyler said softly. "If things were different between you and Jasper, this conversation would be going differently. But you need to figure out what you want before anything would happen between us." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head before climbing out of the bed, leaving the girl alone once again.

She cried for the first time since finding out about Jasper. She cried because she was sick and couldn't manage to keep herself healthy. She cried because she didn't know what the future would hold. She cried because her parents were in jail, because she was in love with a vampire and because she had possibly just screwed up one of the only things that was right in her life.

Amethyst slept for a little while longer, her body exhausted from the sobs that had shaken her entire frame. When she walked out of her bedroom, she followed sound into the living room where Tyler was watching a movie. He reached an arm out for her, his eyes never moving from the screen.

When she was buried in his side, the brunette began crying all over again. She sobbed onto his shoulder as he held her close, gently rubbing her back.

"I don't deserve you," the girl murmured when she finally managed to catch her breath.

"Of course you do. You've been through enough in your life."

Amethyst shook her head. "But I keep dragging you into my messes in worse and worse ways. One day you're actually going to get fed up with me and leave."

"Please. If I could put up with you when you first moved here, nothing will chase me away now."

The two of them laughed quietly, Amethyst hiccupping part of the way though. She pulled away and stared at his shoulder, embarrassed at the mark she left behind. Tyler glanced over at it as well, laughing.

"I can always go shirtless if that would make it easier for you."

She laughed with him that time, letting him pull her back to his side. Electric blue eyes turned to the television, not really watching the movie.

When the credits finally rolled, Amethyst sighed slightly and pulled away. "I really do need to apologize to you."

"You really don't. I know how you are."

"And how's that?"

"You feel things way too deeply. You wear emotions you find acceptable on your sleeve, but never show the ones you don't think people want to see. When you're angry, the entire world knows, but you allow so few people to see you hurting. Your happiness is infectious, but you don't let people realize you have insecurities. Amethyst, you're one of the most wonderful people I know and you deserve everything in the world. You just aren't willing to take it."

The girl licked her lips slightly nervously. "Why do I feel as if there's another meaning to what you're saying?"

"If you're still in love with Jasper Hale, which most everyone still believes you are, you need to go for it and go for him. If you aren't, go for your other options."

Tyler held her gaze for quite a while longer as the girl contemplated exactly what he meant by his words. She wondered if there was more going on in the boy's mind than he actually said to her, curious if he actually felt something for her.

She went to bed that night with the thoughts still on her mind, wondering if she was hurting the best person in her life by loving someone who probably didn't deserve her.

 **A/N:**

 **Hey guys. I'm still not sure about some of the content of this chapter. I've written that Amethyst and Tyler kissed before this chapter, but felt as if this was the best place I could have put it. I hope you guys enjoy it. I promise I'm not going to turn this into a New Moon type issue, but I just wanted to make a point about how blinded she had been by Jasper.**

 **I don't know. I just hope you guys enjoyed it.**

 **Thanks for reading, and as always, I look forward to hearing from you guys.**

 **-Situation**


	34. Dare You To Move Your Schedule

Their run the next morning was quiet. The pair was working on their short distance, so they did a full sprint for about a mile before dropping to a jog for another mile out. When they came back, Amethyst walked upstairs to get into the shower without saying anything to Tyler.

He looked at her curiosity when she climbed into her car and drove off without waiting for him, but her mind was too busy processing everything to have a real conversation with him yet. She picked at her steering wheel cover as she drove, trying to figure out how exactly that day was going to play out.

When the brunette found a parking spot, she put her car into park and leaned back with a deep sigh. The rain was gently tapping her windshield, and Amethyst leaned back against her seat with a sigh, contemplating skipping school again to sleep.

A sharp tap on her window made the girl jump, her eyes flying open with a gasp. When she saw Jasper outside of her car, she grabbed her bag with a sigh and climbed out.

"Can I help you?" she asked, locking her car and heading toward the school.

"You weren't here yesterday."

Amethyst snorted. "Well spotted."

"Is everything okay?"

"It's just peachy."

Jasper sighed. "Amethyst, please."

"Please what," she said, whipping around to glare at him. "Please don't shut you out? Please don't hide things from you? Please don't pretend everything's okay when there's actually a lot going on that you don't know about?"

"Be angry at me all you want but it isn't going to change the way I feel about you." He reached over to touch her arm but she pulled away with a roll of her eyes. "Look. I know I haven't been handling this well, and I'm sorry. I made a lot of decisions I regret and said a lot of things that don't really make sense. But I want to start over."

The brunette shook her head slightly. "You lied to me. You made plans for my life without my consent. I can't just look past that."

"I still have more to explain. That sounds like an excuse, but there's still a lot about my past that you don't understand that could make things make more sense. It doesn't excuse them, but it will give you an insight into why things are the way they are."

Amethyst pressed her lips together when the first bell rang, looking toward her class. She heaved a long sigh, not really wanting to go to calculus.

"Lunch today. I'm not promising anything."

"I wouldn't expect you to," Jasper said, looking her straight in the eye. "But will you do me a favor?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Take better care of your sugar. It can't keep dropping like it did yesterday."

"You have no right to accuse me of not taking care of myself," Amethyst said, her cheeks blazing as her anger bubbled up again. "I'm trying. It's still a learning process."

"I know that. I just don't want to see you in the hospital every again."

Second bell rang as she backed away from him, shaking her head again. "Don't do that," she said, turning around and hurrying to her class.

In photography, she flipped through her textbook mindlessly, trying to find the chapter about photo essays. They had spent the first half of the semester working on aperture and ISO issues that had been major reasons to dock points in their previous project, but Friday was the deadline for their next submissions. Amethyst sighed as she found the chapter, reading through all of the requirements of a still photo essay again.

Her pencil hovered over her storyboard, trying to figure out what she could document that would appeal to a mass audience. She started to sketch out a love story, thoughtlessly basing characters on people she knew who she would have to photograph to tell the story.

"That's not your usual kind of work."

Amethyst glanced up at Mrs. Constantino before turning back to her storyboard. She realized she had been drawing Bella as she fell in love with Edward and the moment when the girl had realized he wasn't human. She sighed and crumpled up the paper, grabbing another storyboard sheet.

"Sorry. I guess I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"That would make you want to tell that kind of story?"

She tapped her pencil against the table, snorting slightly. "I guess I just want to make men the bad guys right now."

Mrs. Constantino walked around her table, sliding into the seat across from her. "Why?"

"Because guys are the worst."

"But there are a lot better ways to tell a story about a guy sucking than making him a monster."

"What do you mean?" Amethyst asked, pausing in her pencil tapping.

"I mean you can tell a story where a girl is a total badass. You can tell a story where she has no romantic interest at all instead being responsible for herself the entire time. Or, if you really want it to be a romance, you could have a guy chasing her after the entire time but have her keep him at arm's length instead of falling head over heels for him."

"But aren't all of those just as overdone as my first idea?"

Her teacher laughed. "I suppose they are. Why not avoid people entirely? Your first project turned out so well."

"I want the challenge of working with people this time, though. I want to be able to show flexibility."

"Have you thought about doing this professionally?" her teacher asked, surprise sprinkled in her voice.

"No, but I also don't half ass anything. If I'm going to take a photography course, I might as well walk out with a portfolio that is worth my time."

"Alright. Then let me give you an extension on your proposal. Next Friday, I want a full proposal and storyboard with people as the focus. You can stay in nonfiction, but you should try to challenge yourself to find a subject that doesn't need you to fictionalize their story." The bell rang to end the period, both women glancing up for a second when it went off. "Good luck. Let me know if you need any help."

Amethyst zoned out in her chemistry class that day, grateful they had lecture instead of a lab. She was wracking her brain for people she knew in the area who had stories she really wanted to tell. Frustrated that she was drawing a blank, the brunette slammed her book closed at the end of class, making Elizabeth raise an eyebrow at her, but she didn't say anything. The two were part of the same relay for the track team, but weren't close enough to actually talk about their lives. The brunette pressed her lips together as an apologetic smile before shoving her book next to her laptop and grabbing her rain coat.

Jasper was waiting outside of her class, making her groan mentally. "Can we reschedule? I have a lot on my mind."

"Would that make you happy?"

She turned to him in surprise. Amethyst had been expecting him to push the issue and had been prepared to argue her point. Considering him carefully, she sighed. "I guess not."

"I can wait," he insisted softly. "I'm willing to wait for you."

The double meaning was not lost on her. "We might as well get it over with today. I already forgot the other stuff anyway."

The two waited in line together, not speaking as they picked out their foods. They made their way back to the table they had used a few weeks ago, Amethyst crossing her legs on her chair. She picked at a rip in her jeans, wondering where it came from.

"Eat," Jasper said softly, tossing a candy bar onto her tray. "Your sugar is fluctuating again."

"Are you one of those dogs who's trained to wake people up when their sugar gets too low?" she murmured, reaching out for the candy anyway. Of course it was a Twix bar, her favorite.

He snorted. "I suppose you could say that. You smell less clean when your blood sugar drops. Instead of rain and honeydew and crispness, you start to smell like a bruised apple. When it gets too bad, you smell like rotted meat."

Amethyst stared at him with her jaw hanging open, wondering how offended it was appropriate to be in that situation.

"I didn't mean anything by it," the blonde said quickly, finally processing her face. "I was just trying to explain it."

"And get really creepy and insulting at the same time? Good call." She tossed the candy bar back onto her tray and grabbed her salad instead, spearing the lettuce angrily.

They sat in silence for a few minutes while she ate her food, both of them knowing she wasn't going to speak first.

"I want to explain about my family's decision."

"Trying to decide my future for me again? Sure, go ahead."

Jasper sighed, leaning closer to her. "We wanted you to live your life, Amethyst. I was being selfish."

She took another bite of her salad, maintaining eye contact.

"I couldn't stay away from you. I still can't stay away from you. It has nothing to do with what I am and everything to do with who you are. The more I got to know you, the more I wanted to spend time with you. It was a dangerous decision, but I couldn't help falling in love with you anyway. They wanted me to allow you your choice, and the easiest way I thought to do that was to break up with you after graduation."

"Right. You've said most of that before. What I don't understand is why you even bothered to get involved with me if that was the situation."

He pulled back slightly in surprise. "I'm sorry?"

"If you guys were so determined to keep your secret, why even befriend me in the first place? If you really wanted to protect your family, you would have stayed away from me at all costs. Instead, you actively sought a relationship with me, knowing there was an expiration date on it, as if that justified the danger you were creating around me," Amethyst said, stabbing her salad a more aggressively than before.

"Because I love you."

"Isn't that what you tell someone when you really want what's best for them? When you really root for them and all of their dreams and care about their opinion. That's love."

"I did all of that."

She shook her head. "You didn't stop to consider what's best for me. The more I listen, the more self-serving this argument becomes."

Jasper looked away, seeming embarrassed. He sighed before looking back at her, desperation in his eyes.

"When my life began again, I didn't keep the same diet I do now. There were a lot of things that happened around me that no one should ever have to see. I did a lot of things no one should ever do." He paused, searching for the words. "I grew accustomed to my way of life, accepting the pain I felt and what came from the others I was doing unspeakable things to. I came to expect near constant ager and hurt. That was life for me.

"One of my very dear friends finally convinced me to get away from the place, but I couldn't get away from the habits. My diet did not change for a very long time after I left. Alice was the one who found me and showed me there was a better way to live, a happier way to live. And I do adore my family, but I still struggle at times. I still expect the anger, the hate, and it puts me on edge much more easily than my family."

Amethyst sipped at her juice. "So basically you think it's okay to fight with me constantly because you had a rough life?"

"That wasn't what I was trying to say." He drew closer to her, speaking even more softly than before. "I can feel emotions from people around me. So when I went through what I did in the past, I felt everything the people around me went through. I actually know how you're feeling when your sugar is dropping, when we're together, when you're tired of hearing the same information you've already studied in your calculus class."

She was too freaked out and confused by his confession to acknowledge the joke. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I need you to understand who I am and why I couldn't stay away from you. After being so accustomed to this darkness for so long, you walked into my life. You were closed off at first, not expressing any emotions. But once you started getting closer to Tyler, I could feel your happiness. I mentioned before that your emotions are contagious. Whatever you're feeling, I actually feel it in a way that's so much more intense than anyone else I've ever met before."

"Is that supposed to make me feel special?"

"I don't know," Jasper said, leaning back with a sigh. "Like I said, I just wanted to explain things today. And I'm doing my best."

The brunette allowed herself to study him again, something she hadn't done since the day in the library. His hair was loose and wavy, falling in an irritatingly perfect way around his face. His honey gold eyes were bright, but there were very faint circles underneath them. The normal quirk that his lips held was gone due to their topic of conversation, she was sure. Jasper dressed much like the rest of his family, normally wearing business causal type outfits. That day, he was wearing a black Oxford with sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a lighter pair of jeans. Amethyst felt her eyes drawn to his arms, where he had quietly powerful muscles.

Jasper chuckled, breaking her from her analysis. "I can't really turn my skill off, darlin'. Even in times like this where you deserve your privacy, I know how you feel."

Her cheeks burned red as she looked back at her salad, determined not to allow her eyes to wander again. "If you know how I feel, why did you agree to put a firm end to our relationship without talking to me first?" she said, pushing the leftover vegetables around mindlessly.

"My family was concerned about our relationship from the beginning. They didn't understand why I wanted a romantic relationship with a human, especially considering my struggles in the past. I lived another way for the longest barring anyone other than Carlisle, and so I'm considered more of a danger than my family. And you're human. It would be the perfect recipe for disaster, if this was about that at all.

"But it never was for me. It was always about being happy with you, making the most of the time you would be here. I can't follow you where you plan to go to college, so we thought it would be best to make sure you had your freedom. It would mean never telling you about who we are, as that's just not something we could do. We aren't supposed to allow humans to know that we actually exist."

"What do you mean where I plan to go to college? I don't even know where that is yet."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's really what you got out of all of that?"

"No, it just seemed the easiest part to address first," Amethyst said with a small shrug.

"Alice can see the future. Based upon the decisions a person makes in their life, she can see what the outcome will be down the road."

The brunette glanced over to the Cullen table were Alice gave her a half smile with a small shrug. She wondered if the girl could hear their conversation for a moment, before realizing it was a stupid thought. Of course she could.

"Now, I have to repeat my question from before. Why bother? If there was the chance everything could go to shit at any moment, which it quite obviously did, why put your family through that kind of danger?"

Jasper stared at her, squinting his eyes slightly. "The first person I cared for was using me for my abilities, keeping me trapped in that place. She may have really cared for me, but she cared much more about what I was able to do to raise the army she was building. When I first left her, it wasn't even a thought about romance. I tried to make myself love Alice the way she deserves after we met, but nothing ever came from it. And then I met you."

"And you got strike number three," Amethyst murmured, moving her legs so she could wrap her arm around them.

"Don't say that." He leaned as close as the table would allow. "There's a lot I have to make up for, and I understand that. I will be making it up to you every day I can."

"But you're still going to walk away after graduation."

"I won't stand in your way," Jasper corrected. "We do have to move to keep people from becoming suspicious after certain periods of time. I don't want you to feel as if you have to choose a place that's near me forever, because there are places where I cannot live even a semblance of a regular life."

The bell rang and Amethyst sighed, putting her feet back on the ground. She met Jasper's pleading gaze and rubbed at her eyes, trying to clear her mind.

"Give me time, Jasper. A relationship with someone who could kill me any second with a definitive ending point to it is not the kind of thing I am going to jump into head first."

"I can give you time. But I don't want to keep giving you space," he said, standing with her.

"I'm still not coming over to your house. It's too weird."

"Then lunch. We can meet for lunch."

Amethyst pressed her lips together as she picked up her tray and bag, heels clacking as she walked toward the trash cans. "You get two days," she said, speaking softly to him as they neared the crowd. "Two days a week, we can have lunch. If I don't want to sit with you, I won't. I have a right to get up and walk away if I'm freaked out."

"I'll take it," Jasper said quickly, grabbing the candy bar off her tray before she dumped the rest of it. Sliding it into her bag, he gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me for being insane," she murmured, breaking away from him to head to gym class.

They were playing volleyball, a sport Amethyst loved. Despite being too short to be really good at it, she loved the energy and tempo of the game. Her group was cycled out, leaving the brunette grinning next to Tyler in the bleachers.

"I had no idea you were so aggressive when it came to volleyball," he said, leaning over to untie her shoe.

The girl swatted him away with a laugh, reaching down to fix it. "It's fun."

"Almost as fun as having lunch with Jasper Hale."

"Don't start."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "From what I could see, it looked as if you two were talking things through. That's always a good sign."

"I suppose." She pulled the knot tighter, considering the fact that she probably needed new shoelaces. "But hearing him out is a far cry from being in a relationship."

"It is. At least you made your decision."

Amethyst picked at her shoe, processing his words. "Yesterday, you said I needed to see what's right in front of me." She turned to look at him and licked her lips nervously. "Did you mean you?"

His laughter surprised her. "God, no. We're already talked about having feelings for each other, in case you've forgotten. I will always love you, but it's not like that. If I hadn't watched you fall in love with Jasper, I can't say things wouldn't be different. You were a lot like Bella when you first showed up, where every guy around was obsessed with the thought of you. You were just bitchy enough to scare them off."

The brunette shoved him lightly, laughing with a bit of embarrassment at his statement.

"Half the guys in this school would still kill to go on a date with you, even though they've seen you with Jasper. You're hot and you have a confidence that girls around here don't have. All I wanted you to know was that you have options if you decide that you want them." Tyler threw an arm around her, squeezing her shoulders as they were put back in to the game. "Of course, those options may drop off once they realize how miserable it is to actually be around you, but that's a different story."

He laughed and went to his spot as Amethyst swatted him away, a grin on her face.

She had gathered so much information to process that day that she was almost grateful when her tutoring student didn't show and work at the library was slow. Amethyst considered what her photography teacher had said about women and how to tell their story. She thought back on her conversation with Jasper, her mind turning over the new information he had given her and how it may affect their relationship.

Finally, she wondered about options. Both Jasper and Tyler told her she had options, although they were telling her in very different contexts. Amethyst hadn't really looked at the other guys around the school, not interested in having a relationship until it happened quite by accident with Jasper. She could always be friends with him while dating someone else, which seemed like such an odd idea, but not necessarily a bad one.


	35. Dare You To Move To The Birthday Song

"Happy birthday!" Amethyst yelled, wrapping her arms around Angela in the parking lot that Friday. She squeezed the girl, smiling when she noticed the blush that was spreading across her face.

Tyler approached them with the tray of cupcakes the brunette had made the previous day after track practice, a huge grin on his face. "Happy birthday, Ang." He opened the box to show the girl what was inside.

Angela blushed more deeply. "Thank you both, really. But this is too much."

"No," Amethyst said, reaching around her friend to grab a cupcake. "This is too much." She pressed the cupcake against her friend's nose, laughing as everyone else stared at them in shock.

The tall girl stared laughing a minute later, everyone else breathing out a sigh of relief. "You're going to regret that," Angela said, wiping some of the cake off her face to toss back at Amethyst, who squealed with laughter as she pulled away.

Both girls went to the bathroom to clean themselves up before class, Amethyst making sure she cleaned all of the frosting off her friend's face.

"Don't hate me too much," the brunette said with a small smile, wetting the paper towel before cleaning the last part off from beside her friend's nose.

"Hate you? This is one of my favorite starts to a birthday so far."

They smiled at each other before hurrying to their first class, where Amethyst only paid enough attention to make sure she could do her homework that night.

At lunch, Tyler ran out to grab the container of cupcakes he had stored back in the van before classes, grinning when he opened the container in front of Angela.

"I would make everyone sing to you, but I'm not sure anyone actually wants to hear that," Amethyst said, smiling at the girl as she reclined in her chair.

"You really didn't have to do this."

"But we did," she insisted, leaning over to shake Angela's leg softly. "My birthday was fantastic because of you guys, and we have to wait until October to celebrate Tyler."

The boy glanced over with a raised eyebrow. "That is absolutely not true. You guys can celebrate me every day."

Electric blue eyes rolled as she shoved Tyler's face, smiling when Angela giggled. "But you guys are all coming over tomorrow, right?"

Everyone around the table chorused their agreement, but the brunette noticed her friend seemed to be speaking more specifically to Ben. She hid a smile in her drink, taking a sip as she watched the two decide which kind of cupcakes they wanted to eat.

When the bell rang, Amethyst got up to head to gym, pleased that Angela was having a good birthday to that point. However, the girl pulled on her arm before she could get too far.

"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that Bella and Jessica are going to be there tomorrow night."

The brunette nodded. "I figured as much. They are your friends, after all."

"But it is going to be weird for you?"

Amethyst smiled slightly, reaching out to squeeze the girl's arm. "Ang, it's your birthday. Literally whatever makes you happy will make me happy. Even if it doesn't,, I can suck it up for you just for this one day." She squeezed again before she walked off to class, humming quietly to herself.

While most of her teammates were changing before track practice, she knocked on her coach's door. "Hey, Coach Leah?"

"What's up, Amethyst?" the woman asked, looking up from her paperwork to smile at the girl.

"I know that you got a full report for my physical this year."

Coach nodded, her face tightening a small bit. "Is there anything particular in there you wanted to talk about?"

"Diabetes is still a relatively new concept to me, and I'm not entirely sure how training affects it. But it doesn't seem to be positive, because my blood sugar keeps dropping no matter what I'm eating or anything like that."

"Well, your doctor did tell you that exercising a lot can have a similar effect on diabetes as eating improperly?"

She searched her brain for a moment. "Maybe?"

Coach Leah let out a small laugh. "Well, athletes who are diabetics do have a more difficult time controlling their blood sugar because of the strain on their body. You have to take in more sugar, generally in carb form, because your body will be burning it off faster." She looked at the girl carefully. "Tyler said you missed practice a few days ago because you were having issues."

"Yeah, my sugar keeps dropping and it doesn't really feel as if I can control it. I wanted to ask you for help first because I'd rather avoid doctors if I can."

"Well, I'm obviously not an expert and really do think you should talk to a doctor about it, but it is all about taking the extra steps to keep your sugar balanced. Now go get changed."

After showering that evening, Amethyst convinced Tyler to watch Aladdin with her, but she drifted off to sleep before the movie was halfway over. The boy shook her awake for dinner, so she scrubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she made her way over to the table.

The brunette crossed her legs when she sat down, smiling at Mr. Crowley across the table. Tyler was carrying the spaghetti to the table for his mother, who was pulling the garlic bread out of the oven.

About halfway through their meal, a thought clicked in Amethyst's head.

"Mrs. Crowley?"

"Yes, dear."

"Angela's birthday was today and she's planning on having everyone over tomorrow after we get off work. Both Tyler and I were invited to go and hang out, and the girls were invited to spend the night. Would you mind if we went?"

The woman shook her head. "Wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Thank you for asking, though. Will you write down her phone number before you leave just in case we need to contact you two?"

"Of course," she said with a smile before going back to her food with a small smile on her face.

Amethyst waited outside Angela's house the next morning, covering her mouth when a yawn escaped. She hadn't slept well the night before and had gotten up to run a full five miles that morning, leaving her more exhausted than she wanted to admit. Tyler had shared a bowl of whatever sugary cereal he tended to eat with her, which she hoped would keep her feeling relatively normal throughout the day.

Her friend came rushing out of the house a few moments later, scraping her hair up into a ponytail as she climbed into the car. The brunette raised an eyebrow at her as she continued to let the car idle. Angela sighed as she leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

"You are so lucky you don't have little brothers."

Amethyst snorted as she put the car into gear, pulling away toward the library. "We've been over this before. I may not have little brothers, but I do live with Tyler."

Angela ran books back as the brunette worked the desk that day, surprised by how many families were inside the library on that particular Saturday. Children weren't exactly her specialty, but she knew she would have to work with them over the summer as well so she put on her best smile.

One little girl smiled shyly at Amethyst as she brought her books up to the circulation desk, pushing three over toward the girl.

"Hi, sweetheart. Did you find everything you wanted today?"

The girl looked up to her mother, who instantly began gesturing with her hands. Amethyst watched with surprise as the girl gestured back, turning to look at the mother as well.

"Sorry about that. Carrie's deaf," the woman explained, digging through her purse. "She said she really likes the amount of books you guys have here."

The brunette turned to the younger girl and pressed her lips into a smile, not entirely sure how to respond.

"Here it is," the mother said, pulling a library card out of her bag and handing it over to Amethyst.

"Will you tell her thank you?" she said as she took the library card. "It's always nice to hear that someone enjoys our library."

She watched the two of them sign out of the corner of her eye as she went through the motions of checking the book out, noticing the two normally came on Thursdays to get their books, which would be why she hadn't ever seen them before.

"Here you go," Amethyst said, sliding the books back toward Carrie. "They're due back in two weeks," she said, holding up two fingers to the little girl.

Her mother chuckled as Carrie nodded enthusiastically, smiling at the brunette as she pulled the books into her arms. "Thanks so much," the woman said, gently guiding her daughter toward the door.

Amethyst sat back in her chair for a moment, noticing she didn't have a line. She chewed on the inside of her lip for just a moment before making a decision.

"Ma'am," she called, standing up and moving toward the exit door.

The woman turned around with a small amount of surprise on her face. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'm sorry. I just wanted to ask you about something. I'm a student at Forks High School, and for my photography course, I have to do a photo story. I really wanted to focus on a person with the story, and was wondering if you would agree to me telling your daughter's story."

The woman looked at her with a slightly concerned look on her face. "I don't know. Carrie deserves her privacy."

"Of course she does. I don't want to intrude, I just can't imagine what she goes through on a daily basis and and to know more about what it's like. It would just be a project for my class; no publication or anything. My teacher could reach out to you to give you more information, if you'd like."

"I really don't know about all that."

"Well let me give you my number," Amethyst said. "I promise, this isn't meant to be creepy or intrusive. I just really want to tell a story about humanity and the things people don't really think about. I can't imagine not being able to hear, and the way your daughter deals with it at such a young age is awe inspiring."

The woman frowned slightly, looking down at her daughter who was pulling on her hand. She quickly signed something to the little girl who was wearing a very impatient expression. "I still don't know. We don't know who you are at all."

"I know, which is why I said I can offer you my number so you can reach out to me if you change your mind. You can speak with my teacher or Chloe here about who I am so you can have absolute confidence before committing to anything." She grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled down her phone number, offering it to the woman. "Trust me, I don't know how I'd react if a stranger asked me to do what I'm asking you do to right now. But I really just want to tell the story. That's all."

"I'm not promising anything," the woman said after a moment, reaching out to take the number. "I'm still not sure about the idea at all."

"Of course. But you can just think about me like a babysitter, if that makes the idea a little bit easier. My photographs are exclusively for my class. But thank you for being willing to listen."

The woman nodded before leading her daughter out of the library, making Amethyst sigh heavily as she walked back to her chair.

Angela raised an eyebrow at the girl. "What was that about?"

"I asked her if I could do my photography project about her daughter."

"Do you know her?"

"Nope. And I do realize how creepy that is. But at the same time, that's a photographers job." She glanced at her friend with a slightly raised eyebrow. "You better get used to the idea, Miss Photojournalist."

They traded jobs for the rest of the day as Amethyst was getting too restless behind the desk. They called their goodbyes to Chloe on their way out, making sure the redhead was set to handle the last hour the library was open on her own.

Angela's stomach growled loudly when they climbed into the car, making the brunette burst into laughter. Her friend reached over to smack her arm, a light blush dusting her face.

"I told you I didn't have time for breakfast this morning after dealing with the boys."

"Still, that was a big stomach growl for a small girl. Let's go satisfy it," she teased, starting up the car.

They drove back to Angela's house and made sandwiches before going down to rearrange the basement. Her parents had purchased some food and drinks for the night which Amethyst laid out on a table while her friend went around with a trash bag, cleaning up the general mess from her family.

Angela also vacuumed while the brunette pushed the couches closer to the television, putting together a space for them to watch movies or play games.

Tyler was the first to arrive, bringing two presents with him. Angela glared when she saw them, turning to Amethyst.

"I said no presents."

"After what you and Tyler did for my birthday? Yeah, I was totally going to listen to that," she snorted, pointing to the spot where Tyler could start the stack of presents.

"You already made me cupcakes and drive me to work every weekend without charging me for gas."

She shrugged. "I felt like baking and it's on the way."

Angela sighed, walking over to wrap her arm around the girl. "Thank you. For everything."

"Ang, you really don't have anything to thank me for," Amethyst said, hugging the girl tightly. "It's called being your friend."

"Well then you're the best friend anyone could be lucky enough to have."

Tyler gathered both girls in his arms, making them start laughing. "I love you both so much," he pretended to sob, pressing his face against Amethyst's. "You're both the best things in my life."

"Get off, you oaf," the brunette laughed, finally managing to shove him away. The doorbell rang as their laughter settled, so Angela went upstairs to invite the others inside.

The moment she was gone, Amethyst turned to Tyler. "Did you bring them?"

"I had to dig them out of the garage, but they're in the trunk, filled and ready to go."

The girl grinned, pleased the rain seemed to be holding off for the day.

Eventually, Mike, Eric, Ben, Tyler, Bella, Jessica, Angela and Amethyst were gathered around a game of Monopoly. Jessica had said she didn't really want to play while Amethyst teamed up with Angela, strategizing with the girl.

"You know, if you offer him your two brown properties, you might be able to get the other blue from Mike," Amethyst murmured, her eyes scanning the cards. "Of course, if you grin wide enough and flip your hair a few times he might just hand it over."

"I can hear you," Mike said as the others dissolved into laugher. "And I have a girlfriend, thank you very much."

The brunette shrugged. "All is fair in love and Monopoly."

After eventually calling a stalemate when Eric and Angela both owned about half the board, the group settled in to watch a movie that Jessica had picked up on her way over. It ended up being a chick flick, which Amethyst wasn't really in the mood for, so she reached out and tapped Bella with her foot.

"How're things with Edward?" she asked quietly, moving away from Angela who was actually watching.

Bella shrugged. "They've gotten better since we got back. I really love him."

"And you guys haven't fought about anything?" Amethyst asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"No. He's great."

She pressed her lips together. "There's nothing that bothers you about the relationship?"

"Shut up," Mike called, tossing some chips over in the girl's direction. She threw them back harder, glaring at the guy slightly. "The movie's almost over and you can talk later."

Amethyst scooted back into her spot beside Angela, letting the girl lay her head on her shoulder. The brunette still looked at Bella curiously as she played with her friend's hair, waiting rather impatiently for the movie to end."

"Who wants to go play with sparklers?" Tyler asked the moment the movie ended, jumping up from his seat. Amethyst had to stifle her giggle at his reaction, realizing he had hated the movie as much as she did. "I have some out in the car."

"I don't know. It's getting late," Angela said, glancing out the window.

"That's the time to set off sparklers, Ang."

Amethyst glanced at her watch. "It's only 10. Do you think your parents would mind?"

The tall girl chewed on her lip for a moment before shaking her head. "As long as we don't wake my brothers, they probably won't be upset."

The group went upstairs, Angela stopping to talk to her parents who were still in the living room. After they agreed the teenagers were fine, Tyler went out to his car while the others headed out to the back yard.

"Why did you guys bring sparklers?" Angela asked as they stopped to pull their shoes on.

"Because we're young, Ang. How much longer are we going to be able to go out and play with sparklers for no reason other than we can?"

Tyler handed out packs of sparklers and matches to each of them, only not handing one to Amethyst. The two of them watched everyone else play for a little while, smiling at their friends.

"Hey, where are your sparklers?" Mike called, noticing neither of them were playing.

Amethyst sighed. "He must have forgotten our packs," she said, reaching over to hit the boy's arm. "We'll go grab them now."

Mike shrugged and went back to drawing in the air as the two of them walked back around to the front of the house, popping Tyler's drunk.

Amethyst pulled out two water guns with a huge grin. "And you dyed the water?"

"We've got purple, green, yellow and blue," he said, grabbing the other two. "They aren't going to know what hit them."

After closing the trunk, Amethyst led the way to the back yard, making sure all of her friends were busy before walking around the corner with her guns. She took aim at Mike and Eric first, unloading the water that turned out to be purple and blue.

Tyler spluttered as it hit the side of his face, while Eric let out somewhat of a shriek. She laughed as she heard similar reactions from Ben and Jessica, who Tyler had apparently picked as his targets.

Amethyst handed one of her guns over to Angela, who looked rather shocked at the whole situation, before turning her gun on Bella, who looked positively panicked. She took partial pity on the girl and sprayed her pants instead of her face, like most of the others had to deal with.

Mike wrestled one of Tyler's guns away, taking aim at the boy who immediately let out his own shout. Amethyst laughed as she tossed her gun to Ben, who also began to unload at the boy.

She took a step back, watching as Jessica stole the gun from Angela to start shooting at Mike. Bella was hiding away from all of it, but she wasn't going to let the girl ruin their fun. Amethyst let out a small shriek as Tyler turned his gun on her, rushing back into the battle to grapple with him for the gun.

They passed out the towels they had brought after the water guns were finally empty, tossing them all inside a trash bag for Tyler to take home and wash. Everyone seemed to be happy which was infectious for Amethyst, who was wearing a huge grin on her face. The boys said their goodnights at that point, hopping in their cars as the girls went back inside to change.

The four girls spread out on the basement floor about an hour later. Amethyst and Angela had work the next day, and the other two seemed to be exhausted from the day. As the brunette laid there, she listened to her friend's breaths even out before turning to look at Angela. She reached over and tapped the girl's had lightly, surprised when she got a reaction.

"Are you okay?"

"Were you sleeping?" Amethyst whispered back, getting closer to the girl.

Angela sighed. "No. I forgot how difficult it is to sleep with other people around."

"I know," she replied with a small laugh. "Maybe there's a reason we quit having sleepovers at 10 years old."

A silence fell between the two of them for a moment as Amethyst took her friend's hand, squeezing gently.

"Is this what you wanted for your birthday?"

"It was so much better than what I expected. Really. You and Tyler are so great to me."

"You deserve so much more. Did you open your presents?"

Angela shook her head. "I was planning on doing that tomorrow after work."

"Well, I hope my present makes up for my lacking as a friend recently."

"What're you talking about?"

Amethyst sighed. "I haven't always been here for you through everything. I don't spend as much time with you as I should and I don't always know what to say. But you are absolutely my best female friend here, and I couldn't make it through school without you."

"You've been busy," the tall girl replied. "I don't even understand how you have time to breathe at some points. And then there's the whole Jasper thing."

Ah, yes. The whole Jasper thing. "That doesn't excuse being a bad friend."

"You aren't a bad friend. You're human."

Angela squeezed her hand one more time before rolling over to get some sleep.

Amethyst rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling as she debated what exactly the whole Jasper thing was and how she would deal with it at school the next week.

 **A/N:**

 **Okay guys, I'm desperately seeking a beta reader or someone to help me talk through my ideas. I'm really hitting walls in these chapters, and I'm happy to even get them to a decent length. But someone who would be willing to PM/e-mail/text me and talk through ideas would be greatly appreciated. Just PM me if you're interested and we can figure it out.**

 **This chapter was j** **ust a little more character and relationship building for everyone's enjoyment. We'll get back to the issues next chapter, probably with a time jump first.  
**

 **As always, I hope you guys enjoy the story and I look forward to hearing from you.**

 **-Situation**


	36. Dare You To Move To Sign

Amethyst picked at her pizza, unsure of why she had even really purchased it. It had looked much better before it had been on her tray. She was eating lunch with Jasper that Tuesday, though, and she refused to ever show her indecision in front of him.

She glanced over at her normal lunch table, smiling when Angela met her gaze. The brunette crossed her eyes at her friend who giggled, but behind her Ben stuck his thumbs into his ears and wiggled his fingers. Amethyst started cracking up, making Angela turn to see what was going on behind her.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed her tray being switched out for another one. The girl turned to see a water, chicken nuggets and a salad in front of her instead of the pizza she really hadn't wanted anymore. She looked up at Jasper who had a small smile on his face. Rolling her eyes, she reached out to take her juice back from her original tray.

"Thank you."

"The pizza didn't look too good up there."

"It looked better up there than it did on my tray."

Jasper gazed down at it with a mildly disgusted look on his face. "I suppose that isn't saying much."

"It probably isn't," she said, shaking the Italian dressing packet before she opened it.

The pair were in their third week of eating lunch together, and it was often just as awkward as it was for the first time. Jasper obviously knew how Amethyst was feeling, but his siblings provided him with other advantages, such as what the girl wished she had picked up for lunch.

She hadn't spoken to the rest of his family since discovering their secret, and part of her wished things were different. Even though Edward was busy almost constantly fawning over Bella, Amethyst missed his dry sense of humor and being able to talk about the world with him. She missed Alice's energy and passion about life. She even missed Emmett reaching over during government to doodle on the top of her notes, an action that had gotten them both reprimanded a few times by their teacher.

Of course, that didn't change who or what they were. She only consented to the lunch meetings with Jasper because she knew, however unfortunately, that she was still in love with him.

"Have you given any thought to prom?"

Amethyst glanced at him, surprised by the question. "No."

"Not one?"

"I work on Saturdays."

He leaned closer. "But you went to the dance a few months ago after work."

"Yeah, and I was dead the next day," she said, opening a ketchup packet.

"How about we make a little bet?"

Amethyst snorted. "Not a chance. You guys literally have every advantage, and I'm not stupid enough to let you play me like that."

"Humor me. It would benefit you as well."

She sighed and pulled her arms away from the table, crossing them over her chest.

"Ben is going to ask Angela to prom before the end of the day."

"Absolutely not fair. You guys can know that definitively, and you can manipulate the situation."

Jasper held up a hand to silence her. "This wager is about something that has not been decided yet. It involves you, and I told Alice to stay out of your future unless a necessary situation arises."

"And what exactly would be considered a necessary situation?"

"You know, stray vampires, reckless choices, or we have to coordinate our outfits."

"I can see you have your priorities in order," she said, rolling her eyes to ignore the fact that she was actually kind of terrified by the idea of stray vampires being in the area.

His smile slipped away. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm getting used to it. But there's no way I can see a bet working out in my favor. How about a challenge instead?"

"A challenge?"

"Set your terms and I'll explain the conditions."

"If I win, I get to take you to prom."

Amethyst sighed heavily, going back to her food. "I already told you that I don't want to go."

"And I heard what you said. But I really want to take you."

"I thought we agreed to work on this not being about just you anymore."

Jasper blinked a few times before looking away. "You're right. I'm sorry. Forget I ever brought it up."

They were silent for a while longer before Amethyst gave up on the awkwardness.

"I get to skip track practice Thursday."

"I thought you loved track practice," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"I do. But having a day off from sprints will probably make my leg muscles do some kind of celebratory dance."

He smiled slightly. "Where are you going to be instead?"

"My photography project," Amethyst replied with a small smile. Carrie's mother, Mrs. Fischer, had called her back about a week after seeing each other at the library. She had asked to speak to the girl's teacher about the project, as she had apparently spoken with Chloe about her before calling. Whatever Mrs. Constantino had said to the woman, she had been much more relaxed about the idea of the girl photographing her daughter.

"The girl's mother actually agreed to you?"

"Apparently I had some really good references. But I get to go photograph Carrie while she's at her class, which is in a school for the deaf that's closer out to Port Angeles. It's about a half an hour drive, but I'm so excited to be able to tell her story."

"Sounds as if you got rather lucky."

Amethyst paused with her fork halfway to her mouth, eyes narrowing. "You didn't have anything to do with it, did you?"

"No," Jasper said with a small chuckle. "This one was all you."

She nodded before going back to her food, surprised by how hungry she was.

"Any other big plans for the next few weeks?" the boy asked, picking up her spoon she wasn't using to spin it through his fingers.

"Track meet is in two weeks, so I'm going to have to work that out with the library to make sure I have enough hours. Then the weekend after is prom, and then my photography project is due that Friday, so I need to make sure all my photographs are together for that."

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you have time to do anything else?"

"I also have to go to La Push with the principal at some point to make my contacts for my summer project." Amethyst jumped when the spoon he was playing with snapped, sending small plastic shards in her direction. "Dude, what the hell?"

"You're not going to La Push."

"And you clearly aren't thinking straight," she said, picking a piece of the plastic spoon out of her hair. "Could you at least pretend to be normal?"

"You're not going to La Push," he repeated, leaning forward to pick a piece off of her sweater. "I'm sorry about the spoon, but I am not going to change my statement."

"Why not?"

"Because it's dangerous."

Amethyst snorted as she rolled her eyes, picking up her juice. "Oh no, whatever will I do in a dangerous situation. Imagine me purposefully putting myself in the way of danger."

Jasper didn't appreciate her joke, his expression not changing.

She sighed in defeat. "Right. Are you at least going to tell me why this time?"

"I can't."

"Great. Just damn great."

"Listen to me, Amethyst. I cannot protect you if you go to La Push, and there could be things over there you don't want to run into."

She pushed back her chair. "Because everything is just sunshine and rainbows over here. I'm not playing this game again." The brunette grabbed her tray and walked over to her normal table, sliding in next to Angela. Everyone at the table passed her small smiles; it was not the first time she had walked away from Jasper in the middle of lunch.

Amethyst allowed her eyes to wander around the cafeteria, noticing Jasper hadn't moved from their spot at the table. Electric blue eyes glanced over him to Edward and Bella, the two of them looking totally wrapped up in each other from their spot away from everyone else. The girl reached over to nudge Tyler, nodding at the couple.

"Do Jasper and I look like that?"

Tyler glanced over to the pair, snorting before he looked back to her. "No. Most of the time you two look like you're arguing or ignoring each other."

She felt pleased by his statement, but there was also a sense of guilt battling in her stomach. It didn't matter that she was determined to make him prove that he would be better if they were to reenter their relationship, she still loved the guy.

As Amethyst walked to practice that day, she was digging through her bag to find her other track shoe. She frowned into the bag, turning to Tyler.

"Can I have your car keys? I think I lost one of my shoes in the trunk."

Her friend snorted as he handed them over. "How did you manage that?"

"You never exactly bother to clean anything out, so I must've lost it amongst your junk," the brunette defended with an eye roll before turning to stomp back to the car.

She popped the trunk, digging through to find her other shoe underneath the jumper cables that were laying in the back. Although she wasn't entirely sure how it had ended up there, she grabbed it and shut the trunk, turning toward the gym.

A couple caught her eye just a few cars down from her, and she eyed Angela and Ben carefully. Her friend was about three inches taller than the boy, but looked to be in heaven as she talked to him. A smile began to creep up on Amethyst's face as she realized what was happening between the two of them.

"I told you so," Jasper murmured from behind her, wiping the smile off her face instantly.

Amethyst whipped around to face him, annoyance written all over her face. "Not only are you intent on keeping more secrets from me, but now you have to come rub it in my face that you have access to information I don't because of your supernatural status? Thanks, but you can kindly kiss my ass."

He raised an eyebrow. "Language."

"Oh, my apologies. You may place your lips upon my posterior for all of the super fun stuff you're doing right about now."

"You're in quite a mood," Jasper said, fighting to keep a smile off his lips.

She sighed, looking away from him to glance at her watch. "I'm almost late for practice. Did you actually need something?"

"I wanted to apologize for my reaction earlier, but I also wanted to ask you about prom again. I really do want you to go with me."

"And I wanted a normal relationship."

A frown pulled at his lips, but he didn't otherwise reply.

"Fine. I'll meet you in the middle. Come to my track meet the week before prom. If I podium in all my events, I win. If not, you win and I will go to prom and even dance with you while I'm there, but it will not be a date."

"And if you win?"

" I get to go to prom with someone else."

Jasper stiffened. "No. Absolutely not. Not only are you asking me to bet against you, but you seem to think I wouldn't care if you showed up with another person."

"It's about me too, remember? And if I'm going to make myself go to this thing, I might as well be happy about it. Now, I'm going to practice. If you decide not to take the deal, I'm not going to prom at all. You have until Friday." Amethyst spun on her heel, hurrying to make it in time before another thought occurred to her. "And if you cheat, I will know," she called, starting to run in her heels toward the locker rooms.

Thursday, she pulled on a pair of black jeans, a flowing white tank top and a teal sweater, pinning all of her hair back from her face. She put on more makeup than had become routine for her, really trying to make sure she would look her best for her project that day.

Even though it was a day when she normally ate lunch with Jasper, she spent the meal with her friends, not paying attention even when Lauren loudly pointed out that the blonde was sitting alone without her.

After government, the girl hurried out to her car, tossing her bag and camera into the passenger's seat before jumping in excitedly. Amethyst had printed off the directions at home that morning, so she followed them onto the interstate, tapping her steering wheel excitedly.

The school was the equivalent of about one of the buildings at Forks High School, surprising the brunette when she parked in front of it. Mrs. Fischer was waiting under the overhang for her, smiling when she approached.

"Hi, Mrs. Fischer," Amethyst said, extending her hand with a smile. "Thank you again for letting me do this."

The woman smiled as she led her into the building, handing over the guest pass that she pinned to her shirt. "When we got home that day, all Carrie wanted to know about was what you had asked about as we were leaving. She told all of her friends here about it before we had even said yes," she said with a chuckle. "After your teacher reassured us about the way the images would be used, I didn't see how we could say no."

"I still do really appreciate it." The pair stopped outside of a window, looking in at the class. "I can't wait to tell her story."

"Chloe is one of four in her age group, while a total of ten children attend the school."

Amethyst glanced at the woman in surprise. "That's it?"

"You'd be surprised how few people in the area suffer from hearing loss. You do have to be legally deaf to come to this school, but that doesn't mean you can't hear at all. An older boy received a cochlear implant not too long ago, but Chloe functions well enough without one."

"And she's completely deaf?"

Mrs. Fischer nodded. "She was born without the ability to hear. We tried to teach her to speak for a while when she was about three, but she got frustrated so easily. Here, she does learn lip reading skills and sign language, and they give her the option to learn to speak."

The women continued to watch for a while longer until the group moved to a table for snacks. Mrs. Fischer opened the door for her, smiling and gesturing the girl inside.

Amethyst waved to Chloe, smiling when her face lit up at the sight of the older girl. She immediately began to make a motion with her hands, pointing to the girl repeatedly.

"She's saying camera," a man said with a smile, walking over to her. "Chloe has been calling you camera ever since the project came up." He made gestures with his hands as he spoke, amazing Amethyst at the fluency with which he signed and spoke.

The brunette's smile grew. "How would I tell her it's nice to see her?"

The man showed her the basic gestures which she attempted to copy to the little girl. Chloe then made a motion that looked as if she were wiping her face, so Amethyst turned back to the man.

He laughed. "She's calling you beautiful. Hi, I'm Mr. Miller."

Amethyst shook the man's hand happily, growing even more excited about the project by the minute. She spent the next hour photographing different angles of the class, loving how expressive Chloe's face and hands were. The little girl could tell an entire story without ever speaking a word, amazing the brunette.

While parents were arriving to pick up their children, Amethyst went off to the side to scribble down all the information she had learned throughout the day. She filled page after page of the notebook she kept in her camera bag, smiling the entire time.

The Fischers made their weekly trip to the library after school, and the brunette followed along behind them. Carrie was constantly bringing books over for her to hold, making it difficult for the girl to adjust her focus as she watched the child run all over the children's section.

Amethyst's favorite moment was when the little girl pulled a basket of puppets over to her. The brunette sat down on the other side of it, watching as she carefully pulled each one of them out one by one to lay flat on the ground. Chloe reached over and took one of her hands, guiding it to the dog puppet. She pulled it on, giggling with the little girl as she made it wiggle through the air. When her hands began flying, the girl looked over to Mrs. Fischer.

The woman smiled and crouched down. "She said the dog is a great dog." Pausing, she signed something to her daughter. "She means super dog, because it can fly. Its name is Magic."

She stared at Chloe in wonder as the girl continued to sign out stories about each one of the puppets to her mother. Amethyst was sure she hadn't been that imaginative as a child, and seeing the little girl smile and truly enjoy playing was amazing to her.

When she finally got home that night, she tucked her camera bag into her center console before heading inside. The Crowleys were already eating dinner when she entered, so she made her way into the dining room.

"Hey, good time with your project?" Tyler asked, passing her a bun for a hamburger.

Amethyst grinned as she plopped down into her chair, tucking one of her legs underneath her. "Much better time than you had at practice, I'm sure." She reached out for the spatula, grabbing one of the hamburgers off the plate on the table. "Do any of you know sign language?"

Tyler and Mr. Crowley shook their heads, but Mrs. Crowley seemed to be considering her question.

"I haven't had to use it in a very long time, but one of my friends had a deaf sibling while I was in school. I'm so rusty I probably couldn't even say hello. Signing certainly is a talent."

"It really is," she agreed, grabbing cheese and tomato. "I think I'd really like to learn."

"I'm certain there are tutorials on the internet. We can always look around here to see if I still have the book I originally used to try and learn, but you'll probably have more luck looking things up online."

Amethyst dug into her hamburger happily, pleased with the progress she had made that day. "I also talked to Chloe while I was there. She said she would be willing to give me two four hour shifts after track practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I can go to track meets or anything else I need to do on Saturdays. That's only as long as Angela is working, of course."

"How do you have enough time to breathe with everything else you do?"

She kicked out toward Tyler, rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face. "Some of us are talented enough to not have to physically remind ourselves to breathe constantly. Imagine that."

After clearing off the table, the two teenagers settled in to do homework. Amethyst cranked out her lab report for chemistry before turning to her calculus with a sigh, knowing the material wouldn't hold her attention as well.

Her mind did wander as she worked her way through the problems, eventually making her annoyed enough to throw her pencil down against the table.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "I know you hate retaking calculus, but there's no need to take it out on the table."

"I can't focus on it," she said, going over to grab a diet soda and a sports drink from the fridge. She slid the drink across the table to Tyler, opening her soda. "It literally takes a fraction of my mind's energy to be able to do it, and so I end up thinking about anything and everything else."

"What're you thinking about today?"

Amethyst sighed, picking at the top of her drink. "Jasper and prom."

"Did he ask you?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

She rolled her eyes slightly. "It's like you run a gossip mill with the way you interrogate me about drama."

"I'm just looking out for a friend," Tyler defended, throwing his eraser at her. "But seriously, what did you say?"

"I made him a bet. If I podium in all my events at the meet coming up, I get to go with whoever I want. If I don't, I still go and have to dance with him, but it's not a date," Amethyst said, finally cracking her drink open.

The boy snorted. "Seems as if he drew the short end of the stick there."

"He shouldn't have been a self-serving asshole, then."

"Language," Mrs. Crowley called from the living room, making a small smile quirk up on the girl's face.

"But you really are being tough on him."

Amethyst sighed, pulling her homework back toward her. "Take note. You lie to me, hurt me, however you want to put it, same thing happens to you."

"Why do you still talk to him if you're that over your relationship?" Tyler questioned, flipping his worksheet over.

She was quiet for a moment. "Because I love him," she finally said, writing down her solution. "No matter how miserable it makes me, I'm more miserable without him. Jasper has done a lot wrong, but he still makes me happy in a way no one else does. Our good moments are so great, and even the bad parts aren't quite so bad."

"Then forgive him. It sounds as if you already have."

"There are some things I just don't know how to forgive," Amethyst said finally, closing her book and heading upstairs to go to bed.

 **A/N:**

 **Huge thanks to Lucifae for being willing to beta read for me, and LoveFollowsMe for being willing to help me talk through everything. You guys rock.**

 **Of course, I look forward to hearing from all of you about ideas you have for the story or major plot points and such. As always, I hope you guys enjoy.**

 **-Situation**


	37. Dare You To Move Back Together

Over the next week, Amethyst began teaching herself sign language in preparation for her next photo shoot with Carrie. She was so intrigued by the language and finite points that went into creating it that she stayed up multiple times throughout to keep researching even when the Crowleys had gone to bed.

Saturday, she took the day off from the library to work on her photography project. Mrs. Fischer had invited her over to their house so she could see what a full day was like for Carrie. The brunette knocked on their door just before 9 in the morning, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand.

"Good morning," Mr. Fischer said as he pulled open the door. "You must be Amethyst."

She offered him her hand. "Yes, sir, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"You, too." He smiled as he shook her hand. "Come on in."

Amethyst followed the man into the home, looking around the cozy building with a small smile. It wasn't a very large space, but it was filled with furniture and toys. Photographs of the couple and their daughter seemed to be on display in every direction, and the drapes were left open to allow the rare sunlight to pour into the house.

"You have a wonderful home," she commented, trailing behind him toward the kitchen.

Mr. Fischer smiled. "Thank you. We do try our hardest."

Mrs. Fischer was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and the newspaper, which she looked up from when the two walked in. "Hello, Amethyst. Great to see you again."

"Thank you for being willing to have me over."

"It's not a problem. Coffee?"

Amethyst passed on the drink, sitting down in one of the wooden chairs at the table. She opened her camera bag and pulled out her gear, setting her body on the table before pulling out her most versatile lens.

"That's some expensive equipment."

The brunette nodded in agreement. "I'm very lucky the school has equipment for us to use. There are few enough students enrolled in photography courses that we are all assigned our own gear."

Mr. Fischer, nodded, reaching over to pick up her camera body. "How did you happen to get into photography?"

"I moved here from New York City a few months ago. While I lived there, I went to this STEM school where we had to pick one elective, just to keep a balanced schedule. I've never had any luck with music, so I went with photography."

"You know, I'm pretty sure I read something in the paper about a family moving here from New York not too long ago," Mrs. Fischer said, slowly turning her spoon in her coffee. "I believe the parents were accused of abuse. It was a big deal because the father had been a senator and did something here in Seattle."

Amethyst felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head. Even though she knew what her situation had been, she didn't enjoy reminiscing on her life after first moving to Forks. No one really spoke about it to hear, so it was easy enough to not have on her mind constantly, but hearing a complete stranger talk about it was an entirely different story.

Mr. Fischer cleared his throat after she didn't reply for a while. "Carrie should be waking up soon. She has an alarm clock that vibrates her headboard to wake her up. Since we knew you were coming, we warned her that you might be in her room when she wakes up."

"Sounds good," she said, pushing up from the table instantly. "Where is her room?"

"Down the hall by the entrance. It's the second door on your right."

"Thanks," Amethyst murmured, snapping her lens into the body before she made her way back to the room.

Even though part of her knew it wouldn't do anything, the brunette knocked before she entered the room. Carrie seemed to be very much asleep when she entered, so the girl got closer to look at the alarm clock. She was surprised by how normal the clock looked, with just a small circle coming off from the digital screen. As quickly as she could, she raised her camera to snap a few pictures of the sleeping girl and the clock before backing up to a reasonable distance.

Even if the little girl knew she was going to be there, Amethyst didn't exactly want a camera and a slightly familiar face to be the first thing Carrie would see.

The brunette jumped when the alarm went off, surprised by how aggressively it shook the bed. Carrie didn't seem to mind, though, her eyes popping open as she reached up to switch the alarm off. Amethyst reacted quickly, capturing the moment that seemed so foreign to her.

After rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the little girl glanced around the room, her lips pursed in thought. When the pair of innocent brown eyes fell on Amethyst, the girl found herself smiling instantly.

Carrie gasped and ran out of bed to hug the girl. She laughed as she squeezed the little girl for a moment, surprised by the energetic reaction.

 _Good morning_ , Amethyst signed when they pulled away.

Seeing the girl's face light up always made her day better. Even though the signing she got in response was much too fast for her to understand, the reaction was entirely worth it.

 _Slow,_ she signed to Carrie. _Learning._

 _I'm very happy,_ the girl sighed back. _I can talk to you._

Amethyst made a fist, quickly raising and lowering it at her wrist to agree with the the statement.

Carrie let out somewhat of a squeal before pulling on the older girl's hand, forcing her to stand up and go to the kitchen. She couldn't keep up with the conversation going on, but was happy to be spotting signs that she knew.

"You learned sign language?"

The brunette shrugged, a small smile on her face. "I wanted to learn," she said, making the sign for learn again. "Talking to Carrie was an important part of telling her story." Even though she only got out the sign for talking and story, she hoped she got her point across to the little girl.

Both of her parents had rather impressed looks on their faces, but Mr. Crowley responded first.

"Thank you. That means a lot."

"It means a lot to me that you guys let me do this project." _Happy_ , she signed, smiling down at the girl. "I really believe people should to know what it's like for her."

She spent the day reliving what it was like to be a 5-year-old. Carrie was going to be starting kindergarten in the fall, staying at the school that was half an hour from their home. She loved to color, and made six different drawings for Amethyst before the girl convinced her she had plenty. The little girl also played dress up, came up with stories for her dolls, helped her mother out in the kitchen and went outside to draw on the sidewalk in the sunshine.

Amethyst sat with the Fischer parents while Carrie was changing into her pajamas, thoroughly worn out from the day. She rubbed her neck where it was sore from her camera strap, glancing up when she heard a chuckle.

"Not used to children?"

"No, ma'am. I'm an only child and none of my friends have siblings who are quite so young."

Mrs. Fischer smiled. "It's a blessing and a curse. I wish she would stay in this stage forever, but at the same time we can't wait for her to be a little bit older and more able to care for herself. I left work just before giving birth to her and haven't been able to return since."

The brunette frowned slightly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not. I get to spend every day with one of my two favorite people in the world."

Amethyst smiled as Carrie walked back into the room wearing a bright purple nightgown and a princess crown on her head. She began snapping photos, laughing when the little girl began to pose for her.

Mr. Fischer clapped, the vibration drawing her attention. He hooked his index finger and gestured toward his mouth with it, smiling when his daughter began to nod with a huge smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with that sign," Amethyst said, glancing back to the father.

"It's for ice cream," he explained, getting up from the couch and pulling his wife with him. "Would you like a sundae?"

"You've already fed me more than enough today so I'm fine, but thank you."

The brunette did follow them into the kitchen, standing a ways back from the table so she could capture the simple family moment. Carrie kissed her parent's cheek after she finished with her ice cream, running over to pull on Amethyst's sleeve. The older girl bent down, surprised when the pair of sticky lips also pressed against her cheek.

 _Good night,_ Carrie signed before running off to brush her teeth. Her father followed her so he could tuck the girl in, but Amethyst sat down at the table, still amazed by the action.

"She really likes you," Mrs. Fischer said with a raised eyebrow. "Carrie gets along with everyone, but she really enjoys having you around."

"I really enjoy being around her." The girl began to disassemble her camera, carefully capping the lens before putting it into her bag. "If you guys don't mind, I would love to come around from time to time and see her."

"I don't believe Carrie would stand for you not coming back."

Amethyst smiled, securing her bag on her shoulder before heading toward the door. "I'll definitely be in contact then. I'm also going to send over the completed project, but I wanted to wait until my teacher gives her comments so I could correct everything for you guys."

"I'm sure it will be wonderful." Mrs. Fischer held the door open for the girl, pausing for a moment. "I did want to apologize though."

"For what?"

"For what I said earlier. I didn't realize."

The brunette pressed her lips together into some semblance of a smile, finally catching on to the meaning. She started picking at her camera bag strap awkwardly. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing."

"It's not nothing. I just didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"I'm in a better situation now. Things always have a funny way of working out."

Mrs. Fischer smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Let us know if we can do anything to help."

"You really don't have to do that," Amethyst said, shaking her head slightly as she backed away.

The woman sighed, realizing what she had done. "I'm sorry; I suppose I'm not as good with words as I thought I was. It's just not fair for someone so young to have to go through that."

"It's not fair what your daughter lives through, either, but it's reality and we deal with it and we get stronger." Amethyst felt tears prickling at her eyes again, so she waved before hurrying down to her car. Inside, she started her car before she had entirely caught her breath, not wanting to make Mrs. Fischer any more worried than she was.

At home, the brunette immediately went to Tyler's room and laid down on the bed, not bothered by the fact he wasn't in there. She closed her eyes as a tear slipped down her face, angry that she was still so affected by all the things she worked so hard to block out of her mind.

She heard Tyler walk in a moment later, pausing when he saw the girl on his bed.

"Why do I suck?" she asked, voice thick with tears.

He chuckled as he went over, pushing her hair back from her face. "You are ridiculous."

"I'm being serious."

"And so am I." Tyler scooted her over on the bed, laying down next to her. "You are one of the least suckiest people I know."

Amethyst felt another tear slide down her cheek and she wiped it away quickly, angry that it had even appeared. "Then why do I keep letting stupid things happen? I didn't tell anyone about my parents, I can't control my own damn body and I can't get over a guy who basically screwed me."

"Okay, it's time to cut the shit."

She blinked at the boy, another tear sliding down her cheek.

"Amy, I love you and can't ever pretend to understand what you've gone through in any of those situations. Your parents were scum of the earth for what they did to you, and I want you to remember that no one deserves that kind of treatment. As for your diabetes, you're working on it. There's a learning curve just like with everything else, and no one expects you to be able to be perfect at it so early. It's a relatively unpredictable condition, so you shouldn't expect yourself to be perfect at things right away.

"But this Jasper thing has gone on long enough. If you love him, nothing can really be bad enough that you have to continually hold him at arm's length. I'm not saying you have to go back to him today, tomorrow, or even next week, but no more running away from him and crying over him and getting in to constant arguments. That's not what love really is."

"He didn't exactly treat me like he loved me," she shot back.

"He didn't? Are you kidding me? Did you even look at the pictures I took the night you guys were going on your date?"

Amethyst shook her head, surprised when he went over to grab a stack of photos and passed them to her. "They're probably about in the middle of ones I had printed. Take a look at them and then tell me he didn't treat you right."

She flipped through until she spotted them, pulling the handful out of them. A small smile worked its way onto her face as she came across the image of her flipping Tyler off as she kissed Jasper. The expression on his face was one she had become rather familiar with, but the tingling feeling in her stomach upset her immediately.

The brunette handed the pictures back to him. "These don't change his actions."

"No, but it is a wake-up call. You're either going to forgive him or you aren't. It's time to stop being ridiculous about it."

Amethyst stayed on the bed even when Tyler walked out of the room, still shocked by his outburst. She pulled her legs up near her chest as she laid back, processing his words.

The brunette hadn't considered the fact that she might have been acting ridiculously toward Jasper. In her mind, the treatment had been fair for what had happened. In fact, eating lunch with him had seemed more than fair enough. She hadn't ever considered the fact that people didn't know the situation and thought she was actually being rather ridiculous to him.

Electric blue eyes turned to look out the window, noticing the sky was still tinted with light still after the sunny day. She sighed and pushed off the bed, going downstairs to apologize to Tyler.

His parents were watching television in the living room, but the boy wasn't sitting with them. Amethyst raised an eyebrow in surprise as she walked into the room.

"Where did Tyler go?"

"He went outside to enjoy the last bit of the nice day," Mrs. Crowley said, turning to smile at the girl. "You should go out and enjoy it as well."

Amethyst thanked the woman before walking out the back door, spotting Tyler standing underneath one of the trees. She walked over and stood beside him, following his gaze.

"Don't apologize."

She turned to him in surprise.

"I don't want this to be the way we are. We fight about something and the you come apologize and then we pretend it never happened. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with our relationship, but you can't keep saying sorry and not doing anything about it."

"Things are more complicated than I can explain to you," Amethyst said, shaking her head. "I want to tell you about it but I just can't."

"I don't care. If you love him as much as you keep saying you do, then it doesn't matter. There are certain things you can do that are unforgiveable, but you can't tell me Jasper cheated on you or treated you wrong," Tyler said with a small laugh. "Everyone knows it. Even if we don't know exactly what happened, we know that neither of you are over each other and you just need to quit being ridiculous about it."

The next day at work, Amethyst used some free time to talk to Angela about the issue.

"I mean, we're all just bystanders when it comes to your situation. None of us can tell you what to do or feel."

"But do you think I'm being stupid?" the brunette pressed, sliding up onto the counter.

Angela sighed. "Like I said, I don't know what happened so I can't tell you how to feel. It's obvious you're really upset about whatever exactly happened, and you have a right to be, but you barely even look at him when you guys eat lunch together. Half the time you don't even sit with him. I can't judge you, but I also don't understand."

Amethyst turned the words over in her mind for the rest of the day, finding that the thoughts kept her awake. She went out for sprints with Tyler the next morning, appreciating the boy's easy nature more than ever.

At school, she used Angela's shoulder to keep her balance as the boy stretched out a particularly tight hamstring for her, wincing as she put pressure on it. The red BMW pulled into the lot as she continued trying to get her leg to relax. She chewed on her lip for a moment as Tyler let her leg down, staring over at the car.

"I'll be right back," she murmured to the two of them, noticing small smiles appear on both of their faces. Amethyst rolled her eyes a bit, but couldn't hide her own smile as she walked over to the family as they climbed out of the car.

She nodded to Rosalie and Emmett, ignoring when the blonde rolled her eyes. Emmett seemed much happier to see her, grinning widely at the brunette. Finally turning her gaze to Jasper, she gave him a small smile. "Good morning."

"Morning," he replied, the corner of his lips pulling up. "How may I help you?"

"I'm sorry."

Jasper pulled back slightly in surprise. "Mind explaining?"

"I'm not forgetting about what happened, but I'm done being stupid about the way I treat you. I am petrified at the fact that you can kill me at any second, and the dangers that we can't even imagine yet scare me even further. I don't know how to feel about your diet or way of life or whatever you want to call it. But I think I'm ready to consider a relationship with you again."

"To consider one?"

Amethyst smiled slightly, gesturing toward their classes when the first bell rang. "You said you wanted the chance to start over. You still get two days a week for lunch because I'm not just going to drop my friends like a hot potato, but I can stand coming over one day a week after training if you guys can stand the way I look and smell after it."

"We do have showers, you know," he said, falling in to step beside her.

"Do you want a medal for that?"

"I believe I'll survive, but I figured the information could act as incentive for you."

She chuckled as she glanced around, finally realizing someone had been missing from the car. "Where's Alice?"

"She rides with Bella and Edward a lot of the time now," Jasper said, holding his hands behind his back.

A frown pulled on Amethyst's lips. "Why?"

"From what I understand, she's very good friends with Bella."

"Why?"

The blonde raised both of his eyebrows at her with a surprised smile. "Why do you hate her so much?"

"I don't get her. She's not really interesting, she can barely function from her clumsiness and she doesn't seem to care about anything other than Edward. I'm not a fan."

"Don't let Edward hear you say that."

"Why not?"

"He's rather protective of her," Jasper said, a small smile pulling at his lips. "Ever since the incident a few months back, the family has been rather hands off concerning her."

Amethyst stopped in front of her class, turning to look at him. "And how would they treat me? Treat us?"

"The same way," he said, not breaking eye contact with her. "Things are going to be different this time."

She allowed him to kiss her cheek before she walked into her class, sighing slightly as she settled in her seat.

"Did what I think just happened actually happened?"

Amethyst smiled over at Angela. "You were right. I don't need to be ridiculous. I can be reasonable, but but insane."


	38. Dare You To Move In The Storm

Tuesday, Amethyst found herself waving goodbye to Tyler instead of climbing into the van with him after practice. She hid under the overhang from the rain, waiting for Edward to take her over to the Cullen's house.

When she had agreed to visiting them, the brunette hadn't imagined it would begin the day after she asked. Jasper had walked with her to track practice the day before, insisting that the thunderstorms in the forecast would be a perfect day for her to go over, so she had agreed.

The silver Volvo pulled up right in front of her, making Amethyst sigh as she took a few steps out into the rain before climbing into the passenger side.

"Hello to you as well," Edward said with a small smirk as she tried to sort out her track and school bag that were by her feet, wondering why she hadn't just sent them home with Tyler. "Ah, yes, but that would have made too much sense for you."

She turned to glare at him. "Stay out of my mind. It's weird."

He chuckled. "If I could stay out, I would."

The brunette pursed her lips as she buckled her seat belt, already having second thoughts about her visitation as Edward pulled out of the parking lot.

Amethyst tried to keep the boy out of her mind by declining Latin nouns through the five declensions, taking her time to make sure she was getting both genders.

"That's a new one." Edward's words broke her concentration, making her look over at the boy. "Everyone has tricks for keeping me out of their mind, but I haven't had the pleasure of listening to someone use Latin before."

"What does everyone else do?"

"Emmett normally doesn't do anything; he doesn't have anything in his mind he wants to keep closed. Rosalie will run through the work she wants to do on our cars, Alice enjoys reciting the alphabet backward, Carlisle names each one of the bones in alphabetical order and Esme will run through a list of colors with unusual names. Jasper used to go through cities in Texas from east to west, but lately he's taken to focusing very hard on you instead."

"What does Bella do?" she asked, pushing aside the happiness that had formed in her stomach.

"She doesn't do anything," Edward replied, pulling into the open spot in the garage. "I can't read her mind."

The brunette snorted. "What, does her brain not work correctly or something?"

"Oddly enough, she asked me the same thing. We don't have an explanation for it, but all I get is radio silence from her."

Amethyst pushed the car door open, grabbing her gym bag before she climbed out. The girl noticed a pair of jeans sticking out from underneath Jeep and raised an eyebrow.

"I've heard of a house landing on the wicked witch of the west, but a Jeep is new to me."

Edward snorted, surprising the brunette at the break in character from him. Rosalie, on the other hand, didn't seem quite so amused.

"I don't understand why you couldn't just stay away," the blonde said, her torso appearing from under the car's carriage. "Things were better without you here."

"I don't understand it either," Amethyst said honestly and simply, before making her way inside.

Jasper was leaning against the doorway when she walked in, making her raised an eyebrow. "Do you enjoy being a creep?"

"No, but I was rather enjoying your comment to Rosalie."

Before the girl could react, a soft thud came from just behind her head. She blinked a few times, noticing Jasper's arm extended around her. There was a wrench in his hand that certainly hadn't been there a moment before, making electric blue eyes look over to the pair of legs that were sticking out from under the Jeep.

"Careful, Rosalie," Jasper said lightly, tossing the wrench perfectly into the toolbox beside the girl. "Some of us are more breakable than others."

Amethyst wondered exactly what she had gotten herself into as Edward pushed her forward so she was fully in the house, walking around her so he could head upstairs. Her gaze shifted to Jasper who smiled easily at her, gesturing upstairs.

"You're welcome to use the shower off my room," he said, holding his hands behind his back as they walked. "If that makes you uncomfortable, you can use the one in Alice's room?"

"Why do you bother with bathrooms?" she wondered aloud.

Jasper raised an eyebrow at her. "We do occasionally need to shower as well. Life is not a particularly clean thing."

She considered his words as she followed him into the second door on the left. The room lacked decoration, but made up for it with the amount of books that were everywhere. Her gym bag slid off her shoulder as she walked in, amazed by the amount of bookcases covering the walls. The brunette reached out and gently ran her fingers over the spines, making her way across the wall to a desk where a laptop was humming quietly. A rather plush leather chair was pushed into the desk, the only place to sit in the room other than the couch positioned on the opposite wall.

Amethyst turned slowly, astonished by how much she loved the simplicity of the room. A window on each of the corner walls allowed her a view of the storm raging outside. The lone decoration, a confederate flag, hung above the desk. She reached up to allow her fingertips to glance along the material, surprised by how worn it felt.

"Why do you ever leave this room?"

"There are, occasionally, more pressing needs. One of which includes showering."

Amethyst turned back to Jasper, following his gesture toward a door on the wall immediately behind the entrance. She allowed her lips to twitch up in way of thanks, grabbing her bag as she made her way through the door.

Inside, she locked the door, despite knowing the action wouldn't have the desired effect if it came down to it. The girl unzipped her jacket and tossed it onto her bag before peeling off her track shorts and athletic tank. She also reached up to allow her locks to escape from the tight ponytail she'd put it in, sighing with the motion finally granted her scalp some relief.

The brunette reached through the curtain and turned the knob on the tub, waiting for it to warm up before activating the shower. She pulled a towel off the rack and placed it on the sink, taking a washcloth into the warm stream of water with her.

20 minutes later, Amethyst finished toweling herself and reached into her bag for her school clothes. The Cullens had apparently purchased showering products for her, a gesture that was oddly touching. After she was back in her red skinny jeans and black button up, she padded out of the bathroom, still squeezing water out of her sheets of hair.

"What should I do with my towels?" she questioned, tossing her hair over so she was looking at the ground as she continued to dry it.

"You can toss them in the laundry basket."

Amethyst tossed her hair back into place, glancing at Jasper for further directions. She was surprised to find him staring directly at her from his seat at the desk, a small smile on his face.

"What?" she asked defensively, walking back into the bathroom to grab her washcloth as well.

"Nothing, darlin'."

She snorted lightly. "Nope, you're not getting away with that. Are you being inappropriate?" the brunette teased as she tossed the items into the laundry.

"I would never."

"Like I believe that." Amethyst crossed the room, plopping down onto the couch and pulling her feet underneath her.

Jasper's smile grew. "You're a lot shorter without heels on."

"That is generally what happens when a person goes without an item intended to elevate their height. Besides, you've seen me without heels before."

"True, but there's something quite different about it this time."

"5'8 never looks any different," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"I suppose not. It must be something else."

The two fell into a relatively uncomfortable silence, Amethyst picking at the buttons on her shirt in an attempt to find something to say. She finally cleared her throat a few minutes later.

"I believe you invited me here today because there was something you wanted to show me."

"I did. We just have to wait for the thunderstorm."

The brunette tilted her head. "You're being rather vague today."

"Only in a good way," he said, walking over to still her hands. Jasper kept the contact for just long enough that Amethyst felt a small blush rising up in her cheeks, making her clear her throat and look away.

He settled into the couch next to her, gently pulling on her legs so she was angled toward him. Her pulse sped up a bit to her dismay, upset that he could hear her reaction.

"Do you plan on answering any of my questions?"

"I'm going to answer quite a few of them today, actually."

The brunette reached out to nudge his leg with her foot. "That's not exactly the best start."

Jasper trapped her foot, tickling the bottom of it lightly and smiling when she squirmed. "I wanted to give you the chance to find out more about vampires, and, in the process, me."

"What do you mean, find out more about vampires?"

"Well, we haven't exactly been able to talk about things freely in the cafeteria. I also haven't been able to actually show you anything we've talked about, which seems slightly unfair."

"Unfair?" The thought hadn't ever occurred to her. "I more thought I was being unfair to you."

He looked at her contemplatively, a small bubble of silence forming around them. Amethyst found herself warming under his gaze instead of the chilling quiet from earlier. The peaceful feeling continued to spread through the room until a lightning bolt cracked just outside, followed only moments later by a crash of thunder.

"Are you ready?" Jasper asked softly, offering her a hand as he stood.

She followed him, quickly stopping by the bathroom to step back into her track shoes and pull on her jacket. The boy led her out into the forest through the pouring rain, pulling her a bit faster when she squealed at the chill in the drops.

The trees sheltered the pair from the rain as Jasper continued to lead her deeper into the forest. She laughed as she ran along behind him, enjoying the challenge of running on the uneven terrain.

"How far in are we going?" Amethyst gasped out, craving oxygen after her constant laughter and sprinting.

"Not too much further, darlin'."

He finally stopped near a large boulder, helping the girl find a place to sit.

"Out here, you have control. Whatever you want to see, whatever you want to do, it's all up to you," Jasper said, placing one hand on either side of her legs as he leaned toward her. "For as long as it takes, I am entirely yours."

The brunette stared into his honey gold eyes, struck for a moment by their closeness. "How can you be near me so early?"

"That isn't exactly something I can show you," he said softly, moving one of his hands to cup her face. "I've tried to explain it to you before."

"Will you try again?"

Jasper pulled away slowly, his hands trailing down her legs as he moved. She loved the tingles she got, her eyes trapped on his motions.

"Imagine smelling purely clean. Not like after a shower, but more like the world after a storm, such as the one we're standing in." He gestured, seeming to struggle for words. "The way an apple smells when you take the first bite. It's crisp and sweet smelling, but it's just washed so it has this genuine quality to it."

"I can't really imagine blood smelling like that," Amethyst said, a small frown pulling on her lips.

His face mirrored hers. "Would you mind if I showed you what speed is like as a vampire?"

"No."

Before she could even fully blink, Jasper had reappeared in front of her, a sun drop flower in his hand. "Smell," he said, handing the flower over.

Still slightly shocked, Amethyst reached over and took the flower from his hand, slowly pulling it up to her nose. She sniffed the flower, petals still slick with rain.

"Imagine a person smelling like that. Most humans smell rich, sweet, more like chocolate cake. When you're healthy, that's how you smell."

"And when I wasn't healthy?" she asked, gently brushing some of the water off the flower.

Jasper cringed slightly. "It was like spoiled meat, or just kind of anything that sits out in the sun for far too long. It was honestly miserable. I wish we could have done more to help earlier."

Amethyst held a hand up to silence him. He picked the flower out of her hand with his lips pressed together, tucking it behind her ear.

"What about eyesight?"

"It'd be easier to explain all of the senses at the same time."

She nodded, allowing him to help her off his spot on the boulder.

"Close your eyes and tell me what you hear."

Amethyst snorted. "This is supposed to teaching me about eyesight."

"Fine, then tell me what you can see."

She glanced around them on the ground first. "There's a tree frog on that big tree," she said, pointing to the creature. Her eyes continued to go up, looking for more. "A family of woodpeckers lives other there," Amethyst said, pointing at another one.

"And now close your eyes and tell me what you hear," Jasper said, pressing his body to hers from behind.

Ignoring her shiver, she followed the instructions. "There's something rustling that way," she said, gesturing over to her left. "It sounds like something big."

"There's a buck over here," he offered softly. "Keep going."

It was difficult to hear anything else over the rain, but one more thing became apparent to her. "Something small, like a rodent. It's over by the boulder."

"A squirrel."

Amethyst kept her eyes closed, enjoying the moment. "You can see all of that?"

"You missed the snake that's a few feet away on the ground. It's working its way away from us. A whole herd of deer is about 100 meters back from the buck you heard, waiting to see if it's safe to keep exploring. Owls made a home in the tree a couple behind the woodpeckers, which are just out of your eyesight."

"You can see all of that?"

"And I can hear more. Back in the house, Emmett is out with Rosalie in the garage and they're talking about a potential game of soccer."

A quiet fell over the two of them again, the girl processing all the information she was gathering. "What about your strength?"

"Why don't you sit back down on the boulder?"

His voice was coming from just over her head so she didn't want to move away, but Amethyst really wanted her answer. She stepped away from him, finding the same nook she had been sitting in before.

"Now, would you prefer me to lift the boulder with you on it? Or would you prefer something different?"

"A tree limb would suffice." She hadn't been expecting that offer.

Jasper chuckled, walking over to the pine tree that was a few feet away from her. He jumped, electric blue eyes widening as he went almost halfway up the tree. The boy reached up and snapped off the branch over his head, making her jump with the crack that rivaled the thunder. He tossed the branch aside, looking around.

"Would you prefer to see a tree knocked over? Or shattered?"

"I think I trust you without seeing either."

The blonde was back at her side a moment later. "Anything else I can show you?"

Amethyst shook her head, still in awe of the information she had been given to that point.

The two stayed in the forest for a while longer, the brunette asking a few more questions about his abilities before Jasper tilted his head back toward the house.

"It's getting late."

She climbed off the boulder, using his hand to help steady her for her last jump to the ground.

"Would you prefer to run back to the house my way? Or would you enjoy making the trip back the same way we did to get out here?"

"What do you mean?"

Jasper smiled. "Do you want to see what it's like to run at vampire speed, Miss Track Queen?"

After chewing on her lip for a moment, the girl nodded with a small smile working across her face. He offered his back to her and she climbed on, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist.

"Are you ready?"

"Probably not."

He laughed. "Just close your eyes if it becomes too much."

And suddenly it felt like driving along the interstate with the windows down. Amethyst couldn't process a single thing around her as it all became a blur, her eyes widening as they got closer to the house.

Only a moment later, they were under the overhang, Jasper bending over to let her off.

"You're terrifying," Amethyst said, her legs shaking slightly as she placed them back on firm ground.

"I am a monster," he said, agreeing with her, "and yet, you don't seem scared."

"If this is going to work, I can't be constantly scared of you. It's the only logical way we could move forward."

She was rewarded by his lips pulling up into a genuine smile before he told her to go inside and get her bag.

On her way up, Amethyst smiled slightly at Alice who was sitting at the top of the stairs.

"Will you sit next to me in physics again?"

She chuckled. "If that would make you happy, then yes."

"You know you have to tell him."

"Tell him what?" Amethyst said, stepping around the smaller girl.

"About what happened."

The girl frowned as she racked her brain, not fully understanding what Alice meant.

"With Tyler?"

It clicked. Amethyst felt a wave of nausea sweep over her as she realized exactly what she had done. The girl opened and closed her mouth a few times, finding that words were failing her.

"Don't worry," Alice said with a small smile. "He cares about you too much to be angry for long. In fact, you should go prom dress shopping with me this Friday."

"I thought you weren't allowed to look into my future," the brunette mumbled, making her way back down the stairs.

"I didn't. Both of those are just common sense."

Jasper didn't press her when she climbed into the Volvo, despite both of them knowing he had heard the conversation. Amethyst struggled with words for the entire drive, unable to explain the situation in a way where it had even been remotely logical.

"I'm sorry," she finally blurted out.

The blonde signaled and pulled over about a block away from her house, putting the car into park. "You have to give me more than that, darlin'."

"I didn't respond to this situation well. That much is obvious. I panicked when I found out when you were a vampire and was hurt about all these plans you made for me and didn't know what to do. About a month after everything happened, I was angry that I was still in love with you and kissed Tyler, trying to make myself interested in someone else. It obviously didn't work and he told me I was an idiot, but you deserve to know."

That time, the silence was much less comfortable.

Amethyst spent that night worrying about his reaction. She could spend all night justifying her actions if she wanted to, but it wasn't worth the effort. The girl knew she hadn't been in the wrong, but she certainly hadn't been in the right, so it was really up to Jasper to determine how he wanted to handle the situation.

The next day, she leaned against her own car under the cloudy sky and waited. In that case, it was entirely up to him to approach her first.

She didn't have to wait as long as she thought she would, spotting him the moment the ostentatious car pulled into the lot. He climbed out of the car and walked straight over to her.

Amethyst opened her mouth to apologize again, but Jasper grabbed her waist and pulled her closer, pressing a kiss to her lips. She was too surprised to react for a moment, but quickly succumbed to the familiar feeling, a smile fighting to work up her lips.

"I still have more to tell you about myself," he said softly, pressing their foreheads together when he pulled away. "I've mentioned the vampire who created me before. Her name is Maria. I thought she was my mate at the time and treated her as such. You kissing another person shouldn't mean anything, as long as you don't do it again."

"No worries," she said, pulling his lips back down to hers for a moment longer.


	39. Dare You To Move When You're Told

The brunette couldn't help but roll her eyes when the whispers started up again, following her all through that day, and even the next into track practice. It didn't seem to matter that she didn't even really see Jasper over those two days, instead spending her lunch in the photography classroom catching up on her project or dealing with life in general. That one moment in front of school had apparently been enough for them.

Amethyst plopped down on one of the yoga mats in the weight room to stretch out her legs before doing some strength conditioning, scraping her locks back into a ponytail as she rolled out her ankles. Once her hair was finally contained, she reached out and grabbed her toes, enjoying the way all of the muscles in her back were pulled taunt for a moment.

And then the giggles began.

She glanced to her right through her ponytail to notice three of the other girls were giggling and looking her way, while the fourth sitting with the group was sending her a dead glare.

Amethyst shook her hair out of her face, sitting up to look straight at the girls. "Something I can help you with?"

The three who had been giggling quickly looked away, but the redhead who had been glaring at her wasn't backing down so easily.

"He's too good for you, you know."

"Sorry, I'm not sure I know who you're talking about."

The girl's face darkened, turning a shade very similar to her hair. "Jasper Hale. He could have any girl in this school and he chose you. What a waste."

"And who would you rather have him date? You?" Amethyst snorted. "Maybe, if it wasn't for that unfortunate issue with your face."

"Mine is a far cry better than yours," she replied, her face darkening again.

"Really? Because your face is so much of an insult you didn't even have to open your mouth to try to upset me."

Stephanie stepped in front of Amethyst just as the redhead looked as if she was at her breaking point, shooting a warning look to the brunette.

"Sorry, Kelly, Amethyst has just had a long day," she said. "Plus she tends to speak without thinking."

The girl glanced over at Kelly, noticing that her face had returned to a relatively normal color. "Whatever. She's just a bitch anyway."

Amethyst felt a laugh forming as a reply formed in her mouth, but Stephanie reached down and dug her fingers into her arm and dragged her up.

"Regardless, she's one of the best this team has. No need for any animosity while we're out on the track, okay?" she said, quickly pulling the taller girl out of the weight room. The blonde didn't release her arm until they were out on the turf in the middle of the track, when she turned and glared at the girl.

"Why are you starting crap?"

"I didn't start anything," Amethyst argued, sitting down to continue her stretching. "It's not my fault that bimbo doesn't know how to finish an argument."

Stephanie sat down as well, pulling off her sock and shoe so she could wrap up her ankle with the athletic tape she had been carrying. "You're just lucky my ankle's been a bitch recently so I had to go grab a wrap or I wouldn't have been there to stop that."

"I didn't need you to stop it," the brunette grumbled.

"No? What were you going to do, slap her and get yourself suspended from the meet? Go ahead, I dare you."

Amethyst rolled her eyes but didn't say anything, twisting away from the girl to stretch out her lower back.

"How did the argument even start?"

"She was staring," she murmured, straightening back out. "And her friends were gossiping. Why can't everyone just shut up about things?"

Stephanie snorted as she finished up on her ankle. "You moved here from New York and you're concerned about some random girls whose names you didn't even know gossiping about you kissing one of the hottest, and previously unattainable, guys in school in the parking lot?"

"Just shut up and put your shoes back on so I can kick your ass out on the track," she replied, standing up with a sigh. "Also I was going to do weight training today and you totally ruined that for me."

"You ruined it for yourself. So shut your mouth and bring it."

Coach Leah called everyone together at the end of practice, tossing out water bottles to anyone not already holding one. "Solid work out there today, guys. You feel ready for the meet?"

In response, she got a roar from the entire team, including Amethyst cheering and laughing as Tyler whistled beside her.

"Alright, alright! So I know it's a bit of late notice, but practice has been cancelled for tomorrow since we're less than two weeks out. Next week, we'll only practice Monday and Thursday, and I expect you guys to completely take off that Friday so you'll be fresh for the meet." Her eyes scanned over her team. "I want every one of you to qualify for states if you can, so we're not taking any chances. Sound good?"

When her statement was greeted with another roar, she laughed and dismissed the team. Stephanie high-fived Amethyst with a huge grin on her face as they walked back toward the locker room.

"A two-day practice week? Hell yeah!"

"I don't know what to do with all that free time," Amethyst laughed.

"I do," the blonde replied. "SAT prep."

She groaned as they reached their lockers, quickly spinning her combination into the dial. "I literally haven't even thought about the SAT yet. I've completely slacked off on my college prep since I moved here."

"You can always take the class with me this summer," Stephanie replied, pulling out her deodorant to reapply it. "It's pretty cheap and is supposed to really help your scores."

"I'm supposed to be working and doing this project over the summer, so I don't think I'll have time." Amethyst sighed, slamming her locker shut. "Life sucks."

"Poor baby Amethyst, she's just so pretty and popular and busy," the blonde tease, laughing when her friend swatted at her and chased her out into the parking lot.

Tyler stopped to pick up some Chinese food for dinner at the request of his parents that night, but the girl found that she wasn't hungry. After picking at some lo main for a few minutes, she sighed and pushed her plate away.

"May I be excused? I'm going to try to get to bed early tonight."

Mrs. Crowley nodded and smiled at her before she got up and covered her plate, sticking it in the fridge. She went up to her room and sighed, collapsing on her bed without bothering to change out of the clothes she had thrown on after practice.

Sometime later, a shaking at her shoulder pulled her back into reality.

Tyler raised his eyebrow at the girl. "Jasper's on the phone for you. I figured you would want to talk to him."

Amethyst sleepily reached out for the phone, curling up again as she pulled it to her ear. "Is this important?"

"You do still suck at hello's."

A small smile pulled at her lips at the memory. "My question still stands."

"You didn't eat dinner tonight."

"Correct."

"After not eating lunch today," he pointed out.

"It didn't sound good."

Jasper sighed slightly. "You can't not let anything sound good. You need to eat."

"I don't want to force food into my stomach if it doesn't want it. Plus it's like," she cracked her eyes open to glance at her alarm clock, "eight o'clock. That feels too late for dinner."

"I'm not above coming over there and force-feeding you."

Amethyst yawned. "Is that a threat or a promise?"

"Please, just go get something to eat, love."

"And miss the chance to see you? Pass."

"Amethyst."

"Jasper."

He sighed. "For me?"

The brunette groaned. "That's not fair."

"I never said anything about being fair."

"Fine. I'm up, I'm up," she murmured, snuggling a bit deeper into her bed.

"Liar."

"Come force-feed me then."

"Carlisle's concerned," Jasper said finally. "He's concerned that you're still not eating right and still not handling your sickness well. He wants to meet with you next week."

That caught her attention. "What?"

"It would be like a consultation so you two can talk about how you can better handle it. He'll only run a test if he feels like it's necessary after talking to you."

"Does he think it's necessary?"

"I don't know, darlin'. That will be between the two of you."

"If I go eat now, does it get me out of this meeting?" Amethyst questioned, sitting up and brushing her hair out of her face.

"No, but it will win my love."

She flopped back down. "Eh."

Jasper's deep chuckle made her smile. "Dinner. And something sugary."

"Bring me ice cream."

"Good-bye, darlin'. I love you."

"I love you," Amethyst replied, her smile softening.

Fifteen minutes later, she was finishing up her government homework with a plate of reheated Chinese food in front of her. Tyler reached over and grabbed a dumpling off her plate, making the brunette swat at his hand and glare at him.

"Did you want me to eat or not?" she said, making him roll his eyes.

"Please, one dumpling isn't going to make your sugar freak out. Besides, it'll probably help with your figure in the long run," he said, eyeing her waist jokingly.

Amethyst's mouth dropped open, which Tyler immediately mocked, making her laugh and throw her eraser at him. She reached over and scooped up a forkful of rice as he grabbed the eraser and made to throw it back, but the doorbell rang before he could launch it.

"I'll get it," the brunette called, laughing as Tyler threw the eraser at her anyway when she opened the door.

"You look like you're in a better mood than earlier."

She smiled and rolled her eyes at Alice, stepping out onto the porch with the girl. "I take it Jasper sent you. Probably with ice cream."

"You don't need that much of a sugar bomb," the girl chimed with her trademark huge smile. "I was sent to see if you wanted any help with your physics homework."

"We didn't have any physics homework," Amethyst said, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course, silly me," Alice said, laughing lightly.

The brunette stared at the pixie-like girl, not sure whether to be confused, angry or amused. "So you were sent to check on me and made sure I smelled normal or whatever."

"I also wanted to remind you about prom dress shopping tomorrow."

"So basically you knew that coach was going to cancel practice for tomorrow and set this up?"

"Pretty much."

She signed, pulling her cardigan tighter around her body. "Should we really go tomorrow?"

"When would you have us go then? Next Friday, as in a week before prom when there won't be any options and you'll be way too focused on your track meet anyway?"

"Or we could just not go shopping at all and skip prom like I originally wanted to anyway." She absentmindedly started picking at the hem of her sweater. "I still haven't technically worked out the day with the library anyway."

"We'll do that first thing after school tomorrow," Alice said, waving away her worry. "And then we'll go out to Seattle after school."

Amethyst looked up. "That's like a four hour drive."

"Not when I'm driving," the small girl said, breaking into her smile again. "Besides, just ask if you can spend the night at our house."

She blinked. "The house where my boyfriend lives? Not likely."

"Come on, the Crowleys know Carlisle and Esme and know how trustworthy they are. This way, we can spend as much time as we want out in the city without having to worry about getting home." The brunette glanced at the door, chewing her lip. "The worst you can do is ask," Alice added.

When Amethyst climbed into Rosalie's car the next day after school, an overnight bag packed into the trunk, she still wasn't completely over her surprise. The Crowley's had agreed to allow her to spend the night with Alice easily, ignoring Tyler's raised eyebrow and accusatory look with the statement that, as the small girl had predicted, Carlisle and Esme would be sure to appropriately supervise the night.

Jasper kissed Amethyst soundly after they piled out of the car at the Cullen's home, grabbing her bag out of the trunk and adding it to her school bag that was over his shoulder before heading inside.

Alice grabbed Rosalie's keys from her once the blonde was out of the car, ignoring the glare from her sister.

"If you hurt my car-" Rosalie began.

"I'll pay for it multiple times over in this life and the next," Alice said, smiling. "I won't hurt the car, Rose. Thanks for letting me borrow it."

The blonde nodded sharply before heading back inside the house, Emmett trailing behind her after shooting Amethyst a wink.

Once they were on the interstate on their way to the library, Alice sighed. "As much as I love Bella, Edward being over there all the time really does hurt our transportation situation."

"We could have taken my car," the brunette said, pulling her legs to her chest with a small smile.

The small girl shot her a slightly pitying look. "You car is wonderful, but isn't exactly up to my standards."

"Excuse me," she said, shooting her friend a sharp look. "I-"

"Helped buy the car, I know. But there's a reason we tend to buy expensive cars, and it isn't just for show. We like to go fast, and normal cars like yours generally don't make the cut."

As if to prove her point, Alice parked in front of the library having driven there in half the time it normally took Amethyst despite it being double the distance.

Chloe was more than willing to work with the girl so she could have some time off for prom, briefly launching into a story of her own school dance that ended with her erupting into giggles. The brunette watched with an amused smile on her face as her boss lowered her shift to 4 hours that Saturday and added her to the schedule for 4 hours on Tuesday after training. It was similar to the schedule they had set up so she could have the upcoming Saturday off for her track meet.

"Also, while I'm here, I only have track practice Monday and Thursday next week, which means I can be here right after school both Tuesday and Friday to work 4 hour shifts each day to make up for Saturday."

"Busy girl," Chloe commented, updating the schedule. Once she saved it, she glanced up. "Do you need to cut back the hours you work here through the rest of the school year? It wouldn't be that big of a deal."

Amethyst had started shaking her head before she had even finished the sentence. "I need these hours."

Her boss nodded slightly, knowing about her situation at home. "Well, if you need anything, let me know. I don't want you to feel overwhelmed."

She smiled slightly before heading back out to the car, where Alice was waiting with a bright smile. After climbing back into the car, she settled in for the trip to Seattle.

Alice also proved she hadn't been joking about shaving time on the trip, reaching a strip of local stores near the heart of downtown just more than two and a half hours later. She raised an eyebrow at the girl, who simply smiled brightly and climbed out of the car.

After striking out at three stores, Amethyst found herself sorting through a rack in a thrift store about three blocks away from where they started.

"There's a ton of cute things there, but they just aren't prom," she told Alice, pulling out an adorable sundress she would have picked up any other day. "Don't you have some kind of way of knowing where we can find out dresses?"

"My talent only works with decisions," the shorter girl murmured, frowning at a particularly ugly shirt. "We have yet to make a decision."

The brunette sighed, walking over to another rack of dresses. She pushed the first dress, a brilliant shade of fuchsia, out of the way with a small role of her eyes. "What color looks best on Jasper?"

"Blue," Alice said, still muttering as if something was distracting her. "Green and black are also good." She sorted through a few more outfits before her shoulders tensed up and her eyes glazed over.

Amethyst's breath caught in her throat as she realized that was a sign of Alice having a vision. She stared at the girl in shock for a moment before walking over and grabbing the smaller girl's arm.

"Tell me what you're seeing," she said softly, pulling the girl toward the least crowded corner of the store. A woman shopping nearby glanced at them, but her gaze didn't stay long.

"Alice," the brunette gently insisted once they were far enough away from the other people there, "tell me what's going on."

The girl's eyes moved blankly, not actually seeing what was right in front of her, before she snapped out of it suddenly, her eyes wide.

The two made eye contact and Amethyst blinked, concerned by the panic in her friend's eyes.

"We're leaving," Alice said, grabbing her wrist tightly. "Now."

"But I was still looking," she said, her eyebrows pulling together. "I don't-"

"Now," she insisted in a hiss, pulling the taller girl out of the store with her surprising strength.

They had almost reached the car when Amethyst first heard the shouting. It only took her a minute to realize it was aimed at the two of them.

"Hey sweetheart, seemed like you were looking for a deal on clothes," the voice rang out behind them. "You can come back and look at my house. Clothes are always 100 percent off there."

There was cackling and catcalling as Alice continued to drag her forward, but the taller girl felt like she had to look over her shoulder at the group behind her. All the boys standing together looked to obviously be college students, and it seemed as if they had started their Friday night early.

One of the guys grinned at her specifically. "Interesting proposition, isn't it, love? Catch you attention there?"

Amethyst snorted in disgust, allowing Alice to pull her faster until they reached the car. She was half shoved inside by the smaller girl, who quickly walked around, ignoring whatever it was the guys had started yelling.

The brunette waited until her friend didn't look quite as pissed before saying anything.

"Not that those guys weren't being horrible, but that definitely wasn't the worst thing in the world. Why all the panic?"

Alice shook her head slightly. "They weren't just some harmless college frat idiots. They were purposefully out in stores, looking for high school girls who may have been shopping for prom dresses. Some of them were going to come inside the store while we were there, so it was easier to get away from them early."

"That's fine, but like I said, they weren't exactly cause to freak out and drag me out of there," she said, pulling her jacket tighter around her and reaching to turn up the heat in the car.

Her hand never reached the dial, as Alice instead reached over and grabbed her, staring into her eyes.

"They weren't just going to yell at people, Amethyst. They weren't just out to hit on girls. They didn't just want to yell at you in the street. They wanted you, in my vision. I saw them…" she paused, loosening her grip on the girl's wrist. "They wanted to have their way with you."

"Oh." The brunette brought her arm back to her stomach, wrapping it around herself as she pulled her knees to her chest.

Alice sighed. "I wasn't trying to scare you," she said, reaching to turn up the heat herself. "I just needed to get you out of there. No one is ever going to hurt you again." To punctuate her statement, she turned up the radio, as if to cover up the awkwardness that had settled over the car with music.

The pair stopped at a little place Alice said she swore by about half an hour outside of Seattle. While Amethyst hadn't felt in the mood to shop anymore, she couldn't argue with the fact that it would be a good way to keep her mind off things. Plus, they had already made the trip.

She wandered toward the wall at the very back of the store, where the featured dresses were on display. The girl sighed internally, turning instead to a clearance rack when none of the options looked remotely like something she wanted to wear.

Amethyst sorted through the dresses mindlessly, only pulling out one when the lace sleeve was enough of a change of texture to actually grab her attention.

The floor-length emerald dress fell smoothly to the floor, with a sweetheart neckline at the top. Lace cap sleeves added a bit of modest to the dress, but a cutout in the back kept it from being too much.

The girl couldn't help but smile as they finished the drive home with her dress hanging in the back seat alongside Alice's rhinestone-bodice evening dress that she insisted she had the perfect shoes to go along with at home.

As they pulled into the Cullen's driveway, Amethyst found herself wishing it was always as easy as finding the perfect dress to chase demons from her mind.

 **So... It's only been, like what, a year?**

 **To all of my readers: I'm sorry for dropping off the face of the planet when it comes to this story. This past year has been a challenging, but rewarding, one, but it simply didn't provide me the time to write for fun.**

 **I also spent a lot of time on this chapter, trying to make sure I captured Amethyst's character correctly. It's been so long since I spent time in her world that I wasn't entirely sure that I was doing her justice, but I hope I have.**

 **Also, I know this chapter may feel a little weird with the whole Seattle scene. I wasn't sold on it, but I think it marks an interesting point and I plan to use it moving forward.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and didn't find it too awful. Next chapter will be a lot better, and should be posted within the week.**

 **Thanks again for your patience. 3**

 **-Situation.**


	40. Dare You To Move To Spend The Night

Before the car had even fully stopped, she was surprised to find herself in Jasper's arms. She sighed and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself closer to him as the stress she didn't know she was carrying lifted off her shoulders.

"What happened?" he asked softly, but she knew the question was directed at Alice, so instead she just snuggled into his cold body as the two talked.

A few moments later, he gently pushed her away and brushed her hair out of her face, electric blue meeting honey gold. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shrugged slightly, closing her eyes and leaning into the hand that was cupping her face. "There's nothing to talk about. Nothing actually happened."

"But it still bothers you." He gently tipped the girl's head, making her look at him. "What Alice saw; it scared you."

"I don't know about scared," Amethyst said softly. "It just wasn't what I was expecting. Just knowing what she saw and how things could have been different… It's weird." When Jasper opened his mouth to reply, she shook her head again. "It doesn't matter, remember? Nothing actually happened. Those idiots are inconsequential memories now."

She lifted herself up onto her toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning away to grab her prom dress out of the car. Alice was already gone with the other bag that had been in the seat, so she just grabbed her hanger and followed Jasper inside.

"You're welcome to stay in Alice's room tonight," he told her as they climbed the stairs, "or you can sleep in my room."

She raised her eyebrow at the boy, but he didn't turn around to look at her. "What happened to Carlisle and Esme being so respectable and not letting anything happen?"

He pushed open the door to his bedroom, gesturing for her to go inside first. "Who said anything about something happening?"

A blush dusted her face as she walked over toward the closet, finding a place to hang up the dress. Amethyst took a moment to gently smooth out the bag instead of turning back around to look at him in an effort to let the heat fade from her face, but she became acutely aware that he was behind her a few moments later. He put his hands on both sides of her waist, gently pulling her flush against him.

"You know you don't need to be embarrassed around me," Jasper said softly by her ear, leaning down to press a kiss just under her ear. "I may not be human, but I do have normal desires." His fingers trailed up and under her blazer, gently pushing it off her shoulders to reveal her cream spaghetti strap top that was underneath. Her breath caught in her throat when he pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, tilting her head to give his lips better access up her neck. The brunette pushed her body closer to his, moaning softly as his fingers dug in deeper.

A moment later, he pulled away with a light chuckle. "Careful, darlin'."

Amethyst turned around to protest, to say that she had been enjoying it and didn't want him to stop, when she noticed how dark his eyes were. "What did-"

"You didn't do anything," he gently reassured her, twisting a lock of her hair around his finger. "We just can't."

"I wasn't trying to-" The blush rose back in her cheeks as she cut herself off, looking away from him.

He waited until the blush faded from her cheeks before he said anything.

"You aren't the only one who craves normality in our relationship, you know. If it were normal, I was normal, we were normal, however you want to say it, I would give into every one of both of our desires as often as we could."

"What happens if we give in anyway?" she asked as a whisper.

"I don't know." Jasper unwound her hair from his finger, instead taking her hand to lead her out of the room. "All I know is that I can't let myself not think around you. I have to stay in control."

Amethyst silently followed him into the kitchen, trying not to let her disappointment overpower her emotions.

"Hungry?" Esme asked as the pair walked in. She used a spatula to remove some kind of fish from a pan before looking up at the girl and smiling. "I hope you like halibut."

"Love it," the brunette replied, sliding into a chair at the dining table. "Thank you for cooking for me."

The dish that slid in front of her completely looked like it came from a five-star restaurant. The halibut was serves on a bed of asparagus and burst tomatoes alongside a serving of quinoa, and the scent alone make her stomach growl.

"Any excuse to use this kitchen," the woman smiled at her. "It's even better that you actually enjoy it."

Amethyst dug into the food happily, savoring the taste for a moment before glancing over at Jasper and Esme who were speaking at the side of the room. A moment later, Jasper came over to press a kiss to her head.

"I'm going to run out for a moment," he said, trailing his fingers down her still bare shoulder. "I need to clear my head."

Her food suddenly became more difficult to swallow. "That's my fault, isn't it."

"It's alright. We both got caught up in each other." He pressed his lips to her shoulder, sending a chill though her. "I'll be back," he promise softly, and then he was gone.

She sighed, going back to her food. Esme had left the room while the pair was talking, so she was alone as she picked at her food, popping a tomato into her mouth.

"You should probably be done eating by the time he gets back." Edward smiled when the girl looked up, surprised by his presence. "You know how protective Jasper can get."

"No more protective than you are of Bella," she said, cutting a piece of asparagus in half.

"Maybe, maybe not." He walked over and slid into a chair across the table from her. "Before Phoenix, I probably would have argued with that statement, but now I have a better comprehension of the situation."

"Which is?"

Edward folded his fingers together and leaned across the table. "We couldn't help you. You do understand that, right? We were not in a position to be able to do anything for you."

Her appetite completely disappeared. "You guys left me alone to deal with a situation no one should ever have to be in. And you knew about it."

"You're right. We did. The abuse you went through is something that should never be done to a human, particular by people who you call parents."

But Amethyst wasn't listening anymore. Her brain was already back there. Laying on the floor as her mother kicker her stomach over and over again, being thrown down the stairs a slap straight across her face for something she couldn't control.

"Don't." His voice was harsh, but his eyes were soft when they made contact. "Don't go back there and relive that."

"But you left me in it. Why should I make you live through it too?"

"We lived through it every day with you. Every day, when you lied to your friends about one injury or another, I was there as you smiled and made up the lie. Jasper could feel the hurt you lived with on a daily basis and knew how much you were carrying on your shoulders. We just couldn't help."

"The hell you couldn't," she said, shoving back from the table. Before she could go anywhere, his hand wrapped tightly around her wrist. "Let go of me."

"Not until after you've actually listened to me, Amethyst. I'm not blaming you in the slightest for being in that situation. But this is the issue that drove you and Jasper apart the most, and I know you're still not over it. You need to understand that we can only step in and do whatever anyone else can. If you had said something to anyone, anyone at all, we would have been at your doorstep as quickly as we could. We got you out of there as soon as we could."

"But you knew the entire time!" she yelled, yanking her arm away. "All of you did!"

"And we did what was necessary to protect our family," Edward said, standing up to his full height. "We would do it again. Humans have come and gone from our lives, but the safety of our family always comes first."

"Even when it comes to Bella?"

Gold eyes flashed dangerously. "Even when it comes to Bella. The most important thing is to keep my family safe and alive. Everything else falls in line behind that. Jasper will tell you the same thing."

The brunette sighed, plopping back down in her chair rather unceremoniously. She pulled her legs up onto the chair, wrapping her arms around them and picking at her sandal strap thoughtlessly. "Neither of us are in the right here, you know."

"And neither of us are in the wrong."

She smiled for the briefest moment, her face not agreeing to hold it for longer. "You're right."

"That is something you can never say enough."

Amethyst glanced up at Edward, who was smiling slightly at her. She returned the look before reaching over and picking up her fork again.

The two made idle conversation as she worked her way through most of the meal, finally pushing it away when it was just some of the quinoa left.

"Can we go have another lesson on the piano?"

Edward gave her a real smile that time. "It's been a long time since your last session. Are you sure you remember any of it?"

"I'm pretty sure I don't remember any of it," she said before taking her dishes over to the sink.

She sat beside him and picked through the keys for a while longer, not even leaving when Jasper stopped by to drop a kiss on her head. While she still wasn't getting through much more than a few scales, but listening to him play was better than actually trying to figure it out for herself anyway.

"I'm going to get back to Bella," Edward finally said, glancing at his watch around 11.

Amethyst nodded slightly, stretching out her fingers over the keys. "I assumed. Behave yourself."

"I feel like I should be telling that to you." The humor flooded through his voice as he gently rested a hand on her shoulder before getting up and walking away.

The brunette stayed at the piano for a moment longer, tracing her fingers over the keys without pressing any of them, before pulling the cover out with a small sigh. She wandered away mindlessly, with the door that she had noticed while they were decorating for Christmas catching her eye again. This time, the door was wide open, so she walked over and knocked gently, glancing inside.

Monitors lined the wall inside, showing a multitude of things. Amethyst found herself drawn to a screen tracking the stock market, and right next to it was a weather radar showing the forecast for a handful of cities around the world. Her gaze continued over them in awe, before her eyes settled on Jasper sitting at one of the computers that was on a desk.

"Hello, love," he murmured, not turning away as he spoke to her. "You know you don't have to knock. You're the only one around here with a pulse, and that announces you much louder than a simple knock."

She snorted, walking over to him. "Pardon me for being human."

"Being human is never something to be pardoned for," he said, reaching out to wrap one of his arms around her waist and pull her closer. "It's one of the best things about you."

"One of them?" the brunette teased softly. Jasper still didn't look up at her, so she reached over and gently took his chin. He allowed her to turn his head a moment later, the corner of his mouth twisted up.

"There are a few things that are more enjoyable, particularly to men like me," he teased, pulling her into his lap.

"And what exactly is a man like you interested by?"

"Well obviously it's your money. I remember hearing something about a trust fund when your grandparents were here last time?"

She laughed, shaking her hair back off her shoulders. "As if you need my money when you have forever to make yours. Speaking of which, is that why you play the stock market?"

"It's always nice to have the extra income," he said, pressing a kiss to her shoulder before resting his chin on it and looking back at the monitor. "Plus Alice likes playing it sometimes."

The girl hummed softly, watching as he filled out some document or another. Figuring she didn't need to be bothered by the content, her eyes rose to one of the monitors just above them. Her eyebrows pulled together as she tried to identify exactly what it was showing, but the list of random topics didn't mean anything to her.

"It tracks what people in our area are searching online," Jasper murmured as he typed something else. "It shows trending topics and specifically looks for keywords that apply to our lifestyle. Just in case people get a little too curious."

She blinked in surprise, but it quickly faded as she saw the logical application to it. The girl started to pick at her jeans as she settled into his lap, watching the monitor with interest.

He laughed gently a moment later, reaching down to still her hand. "I didn't mean to be so boring. Just some work that has to be done for the family. You'll be the center of my attention again here in a few moments."

"Shut up," she said with a roll of her eyes, but she couldn't help the bubble of happiness that formed in her stomach at his statement. "You're being ridiculous."

"Your emotions always speak louder than your words," was all he said, making her roll her eyes again.

Once Jasper was done with whatever the project had been, he wrapped both arms around the girl and leaned back in the chair, allowing her to pull her feet up and snuggle into his chest, smothering a yawn.

"What kind of work do you do for the family?"

"Other than our basic business, there's also a lot that goes into being alive forever. I happen to enjoy the documents and the legal process more than my siblings, so I'm generally responsible for the upkeep or whatever is needed."

Amethyst nodded against his chest, stifling another yawn. When he chuckled at the sight, she looked up accusingly.

"Are you doing this to me?"

"No, darlin'. The day is just catching up with you. Time for bed."

"Carry me upstairs."

"It really isn't that far."

"But it involves moving."

"So do most things in life."

"That's an unfortunate fact."

"Life certainly is unfortunate sometimes," he said after a short laugh. The blonde gently pushed his girlfriend off the lap, making her stand up.

She went into the bathroom off Jasper's bedroom, quickly swapping out her clothes for a loose shirt and a pair of track shorts and brushing her teeth and hair quickly. When the brunette stepped back out, she glanced over at Jasper hesitantly.

He was laying on a bed, a copy of _Fahrenheit 451_ in his hand. She smiled slightly and walked over sitting next to him.

"That may be my favorite book," she said, moving to lay down so she could also see the pages.

"I've only read it about 10 times for school over the years," he said, reaching an arm over to wrap around her and pull her closer. "Was worried I might be forgetting the finer details."

She snorted lightly, closing her eyes briefly.

"Before you fall asleep, I want you to make sure you're comfortable sleeping here," he said.

"It's not like you're the first guy I've ever shared a bed with." When silence met her comment, she opened her eyes to meet his curious gaze. "Tyler and I share beds from time to time."

He sighed, closing the book and getting up to flip the light off before settling back in and wrapping both arms around her. "I envy his humanity," Jasper said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"There's no reason to," she said, tossing one of her legs over his. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

The two laid in silence for a few minutes as the brunette attempted to drift off to sleep. She was surprised by how easy it was to be so near him, so wrapped up in him.

"I talked to Edward about the situation with you guys knowing about everything today."

Jasper's face was pressed against her hair, muffling his voice when he replied. "And?"

"And I'm sorry for the way I reacted at first."

Instead of answering, he pulled her closer again.

Another few minutes later, she cracked her eyes open again.

"Jasper?"

"Amethyst?"

"Will you read me to sleep?"

She felt his lips stretch into a smile against her head. "Of course."

When Amethyst woke up the next morning, she was surprised to find that she felt completely rested as the sun started peaking through the window. She yawned and went to stretch, her hand smacking something very solid.

"Good morning to you as well," Jasper chuckled, sending shivers down her spine all over again.

"Sorry," she said, her eyes slipping closed again. A moment later, though, they shot back open as she covered her mouth.

"What's wrong?" the boy asked, obviously surprised by the shock of panic that came from her.

She shook her head as she climbed out of bed and ran over to the bathroom.

"Amethyst?" he asked again, right on her heels.

"Morning breath," the girl called, shutting him out of the bathroom quickly.

His laugh from the other side of the door made her blush as she pulled out her toothbrush and paste, getting to work on fixing her issue.

Jasper drove her to work in Carlisle's Mercedes, as the windows were most tinted in that car and the sun was shining brightly over the Olympic peninsula for once.

Work passed quickly for the girl, who tucked her overnight bag under the desk as she sorted through the return books and pointed the patrons in the right direction. Angela was giving her looks from the other side of the desk all day, but didn't actually say anything. The two girls called out their goodbyes eight hours later, the brunette slinging the bag over her shoulder as she headed outside to meet Tyler.

Angela followed her to the car, like they had planned. She had had to get a ride from her parents to work that day, put Tyler had said he would be more than happy to bring her home.

However, even once both of them were settled, the boy didn't start the car.

Amethyst looked over at him, surprised to find him already looking at her.

"What?" she demanded.

"You may have my parents fooled, but you didn't fool me," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Spending the night at your boyfriend's house."

"Angela spent eight hours with me today and didn't ask a single question," the brunette sighed, thumping her head back against the seat. "And you start the interrogation two seconds after seeing me again."

"Because this is important!" He glanced back at Angela. "Plus she's just too nice for her own good, so you know she wouldn't ask."

"Literally, it's like you're a tabloid." She rolled her eyes. "What may, or may not, have happened last night is none of your business."

"Oh come on," the taller girl chimed in from the back seat. "You really can't expect us to be satisfied with that."

Amethyst turned around, plastering offense all over her face. "Et tu, Brute?"

She shrugged slightly. "It's good gossip."

"Well sorry to disappoint, but Alice and I just went shopping at this little boutique not too far away, came back and made dinner and then we went to bed."

Tyler squinted at her. "You're lying to us."

"Shut up," the brunette said, rolling her eyes and looking away.

"You are lying!" Angela gasped in surprise.

Her cheeks heated up at the accusation, which annoyed her more than anything.

The boy reached over and prodded at her. "Come on, out with it."

"We did spend some time alone in his room," she said, trying to choose her wording carefully, "but nothing happened." Both of her friend's faces fell slightly, making her laugh a bit in disbelief. "You're both ridiculous. All we did was make out a little bit. Nothing groundbreaking."

"Damn," Tyler said, finally starting the car. "And here I was hoping I would finally find out if the Cullen's reputation holds up in bed too."

Angela joined Amethyst in protesting as they pulled away from the library, making the boy cackle as they both reached out to smack at him.

 **A/N:**

 **Thank you guys for the very kind reviews - I'm glad you're willing to stick with me and get back into the story.**

 **I hope this chapter makes up for the lack of Jasper in the last one, and gives you guys an adorable look into their lives.**

 **Feel free to message me with feedback on the story, or review, whatever works best for you. I want to make sure I'm staying as true to Amethyst as I can.**

 **Look for another chapter later in the weekend!**

 **-Situation**


	41. Dare You To Move Across The Line

"You are not going out there."

"You don't really have a right to tell me I can't."

"I'm doing it to keep you safe, not to be manipulative or cause an argument. You are not going."

Amethyst glared at Jasper across the table, but he wasn't backing down. "I have to go to La Push. It's part of the project that let me stay here instead of moving back to New York with my parents. If your panties are in this much of a bunch about it, come with me."

"I can't," he replied hesitantly, reaching out to pick up the orange from her tray and starting to peel it for her. "We don't go out to La Push."

"Why not?"

The boy shook his head slightly, indicating that the conversation would not continue any further at that point in time.

Instead of giving into her annoyance, she glanced over at her usual lunch table, making eye contact with Angela. She normally sat with that group on Mondays, but she made a special exception considering how much time she had spent in the photo lab the week before. The brunette sucked in her cheeks to make a fish face at her friend, who grinned back at her as she burst out into giggles, making her laugh as well. When electric blue eyes looked back across the table a moment later, the blonde was smiling.

"What?"

"It's infectious," he said, putting the orange slices back on her tray, peeled and separated. "When you're angry with me, when you're happy you made someone laugh, when you're determined to get your way. You know how it makes me feel."

Amethyst reached out and picked up one of the slices, a familiar feeling building at the pit of her stomach of happiness and delight. "If you won't come with me," she said at last.

"Can't," he cut in.

"-Can't come with me," the girl accepted, tilting her head in his direction, "I'll ask Tyler or Angela if one of them is willing to come out with me. Say I just want their company since I ditched them for lunch today."

The corner of his mouth pulled back up into that smirk that she adored. "I'm sure they don't mind too terribly. They're still suspicious about Friday night."

"Well I didn't lie. Nothing did really happen between the two of us. We didn't even technically sleep together."

"Technically," he agreed, raising an eyebrow as his smile grew again.

The two kept eye contact, trading knowing looks for a moment, before Jasper rolled his eyes slightly and looked away.

"What now?" she asked, taking a sip from her juice.

"Emmett just informed me that the hormones in this school can already be scraped off the wall, so he didn't need the two of us adding to it."

She looked around Jasper to make eye contact with Emmett, who was grinning at her.

The brunette smirked at him. "He really doesn't have any room to talk."

Jasper grinned at her again, reaching out to grab her tray to throw away the leftovers once the bell rang.

In gym, Coach Clapp had decided it was time for them to move onto tennis, so they were drilling ball handling skills for a few days before actually setting up a game. Amethyst took her spot next to Tyler, carefully placing her tennis ball at the base of her racket before starting to tilt it, making the ball roll around the outside.

"Question," she said, mentally cursing when the ball rolled off.

"Yes, the whole cafeteria noticed you and Hale having eye sex today."

"That joke died with the dinosaurs, dude. Time to get some new material."

He reached over to hit her racket, sending her ball flying. She chased after it, thanking one of her classmates who grabbed it and tossed it back to her before glaring at Tyler.

"Now you owe me a yes, no matter what I ask."

"I thought Hale was providing for all of your needs."

Amethyst grabbed the ball off her racket, her focus broken as she stared him down.

"Sorry," he said with a grin that clearly showed that he wasn't.

"That's it. Never mind. I don't even want to ask you anymore."

"No, come on, don't pout. It isn't ladylike."

She snorted.

"Neither was that," Tyler said, pointing his racket at her before placing the ball back down on it.

"I'm heading to La Push after work tomorrow and was wondering if you would come out with me. You know the rez better than I do."

"Actually, Eric would be your best bet. He's the one who heads out there to surf any chance he gets."

She considered this, bouncing the ball a couple times on her racket. "Why don't we all head down together tomorrow then? If it's nice enough, you guys can go to the beach. I'll catch up with you after I take care of my project and we can have a bonfire or something."

The boy grinned at her. "You know, you do that thinking thing real well, Ashford."

"Better than you, for sure."

"Alright everyone, pair up! We'll be working on volleying for the second half of class," Coach Clapp called out, cutting off any reply from Tyler. Amethyst stuck her tongue out at him before heading over to pair off with Liza from her government class.

When they got home from track practice that evening, the brunette immediately hopped in the shower, moaning quietly as the water pounded at her back and took all the tension away from the day. She wrapped her hair up in a bun, pulled on one of Tyler's sweatshirts and a pair of shorts and headed down to the living room to get started on her homework. The girl settled in on the floor between the couch and the table, pulling up her outline for a paper that was due in a few weeks on her laptop. She opened up _To Kill A Mockingbird_ as well, yawning as she flipped to a page where she had bookmarked a piece of evidence used to support her thesis.

Moments later, Tyler shook her shoulder with a concerned look on his face. "You okay there?"

She blinked, surprised by how bright it was in the room. "I'm fine, just needed to crank out some of this paper before dinner," she said through a yawn. "Did you need help with something?"

"I'm fine," he said softly, reaching over and closing her laptop. "But you aren't. You do know that it's almost 7, right?"

Amethyst glanced at the clock sitting on the mantle in surprise, as they had gotten home from practice just after 4 p.m. She frowned, looking back up at the boy. "So I guess I fell asleep?"

"I'd say you fell asleep pretty hard. Are you feeling alright?"

"I feel fine," she said with a small sigh, moving her laptop off her lap. "I'll go test my blood sugar, though."

She made her way up the stairs to her room, but surprised herself again when halfway up, the world started spinning. The girl grabbed onto the railing with a gasp, putting her head into her free hand to try to still it.

"Amethyst?" Tyler said. She glanced up to see the boy was right behind her, even though he hadn't sounded that close.

"I don't know what's going on," she admitted, sitting down on the step because the world still wasn't staying still.

"I'm going to go get your monitor. Stay here."

"Wasn't going anywhere," the brunette murmured at his back, squeezing her eyes shut, hoping it would help.

When he got back, he passed her monitor and a test strip to her along with a safety pin and disinfecting wipe. She eyed the phone in his hand as she took the supplies from him, quickly wiping down the safety pin before pricking her finger.

"Calling your parents?"

"Actually I feel like we should call your doctor," he said, transferring the phone to his other hand as he sat down on the same step as her. "I feel like there's something more serious going on here than just your blood sugar."

Amethyst put her head back against the wall, annoyed that things were still spinning. "Just call the Cullens. It's late enough that Carlisle should be home for the day."

He gently prodded her leg with the phone. "Not all of us have their number memorized."

She smiled slightly as she reached out and typed in the number before handing the phone back to him. As Tyler walked away to take the phone call, her monitor beeped. The brunette frowned at the reading, the number surprising her.

"Here," the boy said, walking back to hand the phone to her. "The doc wants to talk to you."

"Hi Carlisle," she said softly, still looking at her monitor.

"Hello, Amethyst. It sounds like you're having a rough night tonight."

"I don't understand what the issue is, though. I've been good for the past few days, and my blood sugar is at about 110. I haven't eaten since lunch and I apparently slept for a few hours."

He hummed through the phone. "Well, there probably isn't anything I can do right now for you over the phone. I wonder if you might be able to come by soon so I can run some tests? Just to see if this is something for us to be concerned about or if it's just a bad day for you."

"I can stop by the hospital Wednesday after work. It's late tonight and I'm supposed to go down to La Push after work tomorrow."

"How about you take the day off from school instead and come in and see me? I'll write you a note to excuse you from class."

"Tomorrow?"

"Let's plan for Wednesday at this point in time. If you're still feeling much of the same tomorrow, we'll bump it up."

Amethyst swallowed thickly. "Okay."

"Let's not worry until we have to, alright?" Carlisle's gentle voice made her smile a bit. "It's not entirely out of the normal for people to get dizzy spells from time to time. Just go have some dinner and then lay down for the night. Be sure to drink lots of water, and drink some ginger ale or take a ginger pill if your stomach gets upset."

"Alright. Thank you."

"Of course, dear. Let me know if you need anything else. I'll see you soon."

She hung up the phone, sighing as she handed it back to Tyler before pressing her fists against her eyes. "Are you parents home?"

"I think they were going out for a date night, but I can call them back if you're really feeling bad."

"I don't know if it's that serious. But will you make me something for dinner? I'll eat and then head straight to bed."

When she woke up the next morning, she was relieved that the world stayed in place. The girl walked over into Tyler's room to wake him up for a run, but he instead pulled her down into bed with him.

"We're not running today," he said, trapping her against his side.

"But our competition is this weekend," she protested, trying to wiggle free. "I feel fine. Let's go."

"Nope." He wrapped his arms tighter around her. "Go back to sleep."

Amethyst sighed slightly with a laugh, but settled in with him for an extra hour of sleep.

She that because she was feeling better, that would be the only conversation they had about it that day. Instead, Tyler hovered over her all through the morning, insisting that he would drive her to school that day. He only backed down when she sent him a fierce glare and pointed out that she had to work after school, ending with her practically storming out of the house.

The brunette did stop at the gas station to buy some hot chocolate, feeling as if she would need the sugar boost to get through the day. She pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later and grabbed a spot near the main office, leaning back against the seat with a sigh once the car was off. Electric blue eyes drifted closed for a moment as she sat there, simply catching her breath.

A knock on the window shocked her out of her moment, making her jump and barely containing a scream that almost bubbled out of her mouth. She sighed when she realized it was only Tyler, reaching over to grab her bag and hot chocolate before climbing out with a sigh.

Realizing that Jasper was immediately behind the boy, she pressed a kiss to his cheek before turning her glare on Tyler. "Can I help you?" she said, shutting and locking her car.

"I was worried," he said, reaching over to grab her bag from her. "You were right behind me when we left the house but I beat you here."

"Really, Tyler, I'm not two steps from death," she insisted, not allowing him to take her bag. Her eyes shifted up to Jasper instead, whose concerned shone down through his eyes as well. "Honestly. I feel fine, both of you." The girl went up onto her toes again, favoring her favorite boots over a pair of heels for the day, to press another kiss to the blonde's cheek. "Now come on, we have to ask Eric about La Push."

Amethyst reached over and laced her fingers through her boyfriend's, leading him over to the group. He gently pulled on her hand to make her lag behind Tyler, prompting her to look up at him.

"Are you really alright?"

"I don't know what happened last night. As far as I know, I was just overly tired and got dizzy. Carlisle will be able to tell me if anything is more seriously wrong tomorrow."

Jasper frowned slightly at her. "I can't tell if anything's wrong and it's really bothering me," he murmured, scanning her body as if that would give him any answers.

"You don't have to; it isn't your job. Like I said, we'll find out what's going on soon enough," she said, gently pulling him forward by his hand. "Now come over and talk to my friends about how you're afraid of the big bad reservation so they have to go with me."

His smirk made her smile back as they walked over toward her friend group, who was all sending looks in their direction. They continued to send looks at Jasper as he leaned against Tyler's car, their usual gathering place, with Amethyst leaning against him.

Eric quickly agreed to head out to the beach for the day, saying that it would be nice enough that night for a bonfire as the rain was expected to hold off, Mike seconding him almost immediately. Jessica, Lauren and Ben all said they were interested in going as well, while Angela accepted hesitantly, saying she would have to ask her parents first. Jessica backed her way into asking Jasper if he would be coming with them as well, but he waved her question away with a simple answer of family things.

The brunette quickly joined in the planning for that night with her friends as Jasper absentmindedly tapped out a rhythm on her thigh, his other hand resting comfortably on her hip. When the bell rang to remind them about class, Amethyst and Angela waved goodbye to the rest of them, only Jasper joining the girls as they headed toward calculus.

"You know, you accuse me of not being able to sit still and say I constantly picked at things," she teased, bumping into the blonde. "You seem to have a habit of fidgeting yourself."

He smirked down at her, but his gaze quickly transferred over to Angela, implying that he wasn't going to say what he was thinking in front of the girl. She then quickly redirected the topic, moving on to asking Angela about the paper she was writing for literature class, as they had the same teacher for different periods of the AP course.

Jasper and Tyler both continued to hover throughout the day, constantly watching the girl out of the corner of their eyes. She tried to fight off any feelings of annoyance, reminding herself that they were only doing it for her own good and because they cared about her. No matter the reason, it still felt good to escape the glances for a few hours while working at the library.

Amethyst drove down to the beach on the reservation after work, meeting up with her friends and reaching out to hug Angela specifically, glad that her sweet friend was able to make it down there. She had an appointment set up with Sam Uley at 7 that evening, so after a few minutes, she headed off to see him with the help of some rough directions from Eric. The girl eventually found her way to the house, taking a deep breath before climbing out of the car and heading over to knock on the door.

The two had been put into contact by her principal and had never actually met in person, so she was sure the shock showed on her face when a very large, tan, muscular man opened the door to her. Her expression was mimicked by the man, who immediately stepped out onto the porch, pulling the door closed behind him.

"What do you want?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "I'm Amethyst Ashford. I spoke with Sam Uley over the phone about completing a sociolinguistic analysis of the people of La Push, and was supposed to come down here to meet with him today.

"I am Sam," he said, looking her up and down, "but you are going to need to leave."

"What? Why?"

"This isn't going to work." The man turned away from her and went to walk back inside the house, but she reached over and put her hand on the door, stopping him from shutting it.

"I'm sorry, I seem to be confused about what's going on. I have a project to complete through my school and was told to use you as a point of contact. I don't see why anything about my appearance has suddenly changed by ability to do that."

"It isn't your appearance. It's the appearance of those you seem to spend time with."

She shook her head slightly. "You're going to have to give me more than that."

"Are you associated with the Cullens?"

Amethyst hadn't been expecting that one. "I am. I go to school with them and Carlisle Cullen is my doctor."

"That's all?"

"I am in a relationship with one of them, not that it's particularly any of your business."

Sam pushed her hand aside, going to shut the door again. "I think it would be best if you left. I don't see this project working out considering the circumstances."

"What circumstances?" the brunette demanded, reaching out and sticking her foot in the door, pissed off at that point. However, her motioned seemed to make him angrier, as he pulled the door open and walked toward her, causing her to take some steps backward away from the porch in shock.

"We agreed to allow you to speak with natives of the tribe, but I will not allow you to do so if there is a chance my people will be at risk."

"You don't understand," the girl said going for a different approach. "I actually need this project. If I don't do this, I don't have a reason to be in Washington anymore."

"I apologize if that would create an inconvenience for you. However, it would give you a chance to find better people to associate with in any case."

"The people I associate with are just fine."

He snorted. "You willingly have an intimate relationship with the Cullens. Don't you know who they are?"

"Don't you?" she challenged, ignoring the heat rising in her cheeks. "And it doesn't have anything to do with my study here. They won't be coming to the reservation at any point. I am by myself, and I am here to do this work so I can stay and fight for my home."

"You want a lesson in linguistics and speech? How about you look up the Cold Ones as a starting point. See what that means to the Quileute."

"I know what it means," she hissed.

"And yet you put yourself in that situation?"

"Is this why they don't come here?" the girl countered. "Because they're treated like this?"

"No. They don't come here because their types are forbidden from our land."

"Why?"

"Because they're killers," Sam said flatly.

Amethyst took another step back from him. It was one thing to dance around the topic, but he obviously knew exactly what was going on. "How do you know what you know?"

"I really think you should just leave," he said, turning back to the door.

"Not without my answers," she shouted, following him to the door. "I'm not leaving Washington because one man thinks he can stop all my hard work."

"Do you call your blood-sucker a man too?"

That stopped her in her tracks. "What-"

"You obviously aren't going to stop or back down," the man said, clearly frustrated as he reached up to run his hands through his hair. "But before you can continue with this project, you need to better understand our people. I'll allow you to speak with my partner, Emily. She can explain our legends to you. Then you'll understand."

"Thank you," the brunette said, surprised by the rapid switch in emotions from him.

"Don't thank me just yet."

Half an hour later, the girl was sitting across from a beautiful woman with scars marring her face, still working to digest what she had learned. She found it easy not to stare at the woman's scars, instead keeping eye contact and listening attentively to the legend of the Spirit Warriors, particularly the part about a deal reached with the Cold Ones.

"So.." she started, trying to figure out how to address the issue specifically.

"The last time the Cullens were here, our ancestors made that treaty with them." Sam had been leaning against the doorway, listening to the legends as well. Amethyst wasn't surprised he hadn't left the two of them alone, but was growing annoyed with the man. "They do not come onto our land and they cannot kill humans. As long as they maintain their promise, we are at a tentative peace with them."

"But what does that make you?" she asked, directing the question to the woman across the table who had shown her kindness instead of him. "What does that mean for the people of La Push?"

"If the legends are to be believed," she said, smiling a half smile due to the scars, "Spirit Warriors are called upon when the need arises to keep us safe from the Cold Ones. They protect our land and our people."

"By being wolves like Taha Aki?" The disbelief dripped off Amethyst's voice.

A deep laugh, completely unfamiliar to the girl, came from behind her. "You believe in bloodsuckers and willingly spend you time to them, but find it hard to believe that spirit warriors exist?"

She turned again, shocked by the two men who looked incredibly similar to Sam who had joined him. "I don't-"

"Emily, got any food?" One of the cut her off, walking toward the kitchen.

"Manners, Paul," she called, sending him a look. "But there is food in the fridge from dinner you're welcome to reheat."

The other man who had walked in with Paul grinned at her. "Don't mind him. He's just grouchy."

"When he hasn't eaten?" the brunette asked, glancing toward the kitchen to see him digging in to leftover mashed potatoes without even reheating them.

"No, just constantly."

"Back to the point." Sam interrupted the conversation, wiping the slowly growing grin off the girl's face. "If you're still interested in completing this project, you would essentially be working with and studying people completely your partner and his way of life."

She shook her head slightly. "This still doesn't make sense to me."

"Take some time to decide," Emily said, reaching across the table to place her hand over the brunette's, which she had been using to pick at her nail polish. "If it's all too much for you, I'm sure there's still people in the tribe who would be willing to speak to you that are perhaps a bit less intense than Sam. We wouldn't want you to sacrifice your home."

The two women traded slight smiles before Amethyst stood up, thanking her for her hospitality and heading toward the door. The man who had been standing with Sam followed her out to her car, seeming at peace.

"So you don't seem to hate me quite as much as Sam does," she said, turning to him once they were standing by the vehicle. "What's your name?"

"Jared," he said, grinning. "And Sam's just got a lot on his mind. And plate."

"Literally, if Paul is anything to go by."

Jared laughed. "I like you. I really hope you do decide to come back."

"It's just never what I expected my life to be," the brunette said, leaning back against her car to stare up at the stars. "I never wanted to be caught up in all of this, and it just keeps getting more complicated."

"Could you imagine life any differently, though?"

Electric blue eyes traveled back down, giving the boy a considering look. "No, I suppose not." She sighed, pushing off from her car to stretch. "If you wouldn't mind letting Sam know, I'll be in contact within a week. I just want to talk everything through with the Cullens, now that I know everything."

"You seem to have handled it pretty well."

"Yeah, well, once you get past the panic attack of realizing you're dating a vampire, wolves are nothing in comparison."

"Hey," Jared protested, puffing out his chest. "We are a lot in comparison, thank you very much."

She laughed before climbing into her car, waving at Jared as she drove off. When she got back to the beach, Tyler pretty much pulled her out of her car and looked her over. "You were gone for a long time," he said, inspecting her face last.

"The project just ended up being a lot more involved than I thought," Amethyst said with a small sigh, pulling the boy in for a hug. "Didn't mean to worry you."

"Everything alright with it?"

"Seems to be," she said, the lie making her stomach clench.

"Good, because Mike brought marshmallows for the fire and they're almost gone, so we need to go claim some, like now."


	42. Dare You To Move To The Doctor's Office

She woke up the next morning when lips were gently pressed against her forehead, making a small smile pull across her face. Electric blue eyes opened to take in the boy in front of her, but Amethyst surprised herself by jumping when she realized it was Tyler who was leaning over her.

"Good morning to you, too," he said with a slight laugh, pushing her hair out of her face for her. "Good dream, I presume?"

"Something like that," the brunette murmured, images of gold eyes and honey-colored hair dancing in front of her eyes as she reached up to rub them. "Are we going for a run?"

"Nah, I'm actually about to head out to school and just wanted to let you know."

"My one day to sleep in for my entire life, and you decide to wake me up." She meant the words to be slightly biting, but the smile gently pulling on her lips completely counteracted that.

He laughed, moving her hair out of the way again. "I just know how much you would miss me if you didn't get to see me all day until after work."

"Wouldn't have been a great loss."

"Keep telling yourself that."

The girl grinned, reaching out and poking his nose. "Get out of here. I'm tired of your face."

Tyler leaned down and pressed another kiss to her forehead before walking out and closing the door behind him. She snuggled back down into her blankets, hoping her dreams would pick up where they had left off.

Right around noon, the girl rolled out of bed with a small smile on her face, enjoying the feeling of being fully rested for the first time in quite a while. She pulled on an athletic tank and some leggings before heading out for a run, taking her time to do a full three-mile loop around the neighborhood.

Deciding to let her hair dry naturally, she walked back into her bedroom in a towel, humming softly to herself. The brunette opened both doors of her closet and sorted through all the clothing for a minute before pulling out one of her favorite outfits; dark wash jeans with her best thigh-high boots, a striped shirt and her cabernet cardigan. She applied some concealer and just a bit of eye makeup before glancing at the clock with a sigh. Her appointment was scheduled for 2 p.m. that day, and she had about half an hour before she was supposed to get there, meaning there wasn't time for a full "breakfast" before she left.

Amethyst walked down the stairs to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of juice, an apple and a granola bar before heading out to her car. The drive to the hospital was easy, so she was soon settled into a chair in the corner of the lobby, working her way through the last bit of _Fahrenheit 451_ that she had stolen from Jasper.

"Amethyst?" she heard all too soon, pulling her back to reality. The girl looked up, smiling when she noticed that Carlisle was standing back by the reception area waiting for her. He smiled warmly once they made eye contact. "Come on back, my dear."

She trailed behind the blonde man back toward an exam room, smiling to herself when practically every woman they passed either stopped to watch him walk by or craned their necks to grab one last look of him as they went into the room. He closed the door behind them as she went over and climbed onto the exam table with a small sigh.

"So why don't you fill me in on all the details from Monday?" the man asked as he went over to the wall and grabbed a couple tools. "I've only managed to collect fragments from a variety of third-hand sources."

She launched into the story as he checked her breathing, blood pressure and did the thing where he looked into her ears, even though she wasn't entirely sure what that one was for.

"Have you dealt with any other cases of dizziness, lack of appetite or exhaustion recently?"

"I'm not hungry very often, but that isn't overly uncommon for me." She didn't think twice as his hands gently pressed into her neck, checking for any abnormalities. The cold had become almost comforting to her. "I go through phases where I never feel fully rested, but I've always just credited that to the schedule I keep. It doesn't get to the point where I'm exhausted, but some days getting out of bed with an alarm is a challenge."

"You're a teenager," Carlisle said with a small chuckle, making another note on his clipboard. "That's to be expected."

She smiled at him. "You would know, after all. Living with five teenagers."

"Nothing gets past you," he joked back, pulling a chair over to sit next to her. "Now, tell me about your history with sugar readings. How often they seem high, how often they seem low, if there's normally a time in the day when you notice that it's dropping, anything."

The brunette thought back through her experience so far. "I've never really had issues with my sugar getting too high, even after meals. A lot of the time it starts to drop around lunchtime, but I generally can bring it back up to an acceptable level by putting a little extra sugar in my diet for a day."

"Have you found yourself dealing with any unexplained shortness of breath or symptoms of dehydration?"

"I'll have some swelling to my feet every once in a while, but I assumed that was just a running thing. It's been happening for most of my life," she said with a small shrug. "And then it's really just being tired a lot. I normally keep up on my fluids and everything with track being in season."

The blonde pressed his lips together, sending her a considering look. "I'm going to run a couple tests to get more insights into your kidney and pancreas function, just in case there's something more serious going on there than we had known before. It seems as if Monday may have been a fluke, where your body was just exhausted. We'll know more once we can actually read the results."

"Is this going to hurt?" Amethyst asked slightly unhappily as she watched him gather the items to run the tests, including a needle that looked like the size of her forearm.

"Just remember to keep breathing. I'll keep the pain as minimal as I can."

Half an hour and a lot of pokes later, the brunette was rubbing at her stomach unhappily. He had pulled three samples from her abdominal area, one from each of her upper arms and a final one from her shoulder area. She almost felt mummified with all the bandages, and was doing everything in her power to keep from picking at them.

"I promise you'll be able to take them off right around the time you get home from work," the man said with a small smile, obviously noticing her discomfort. "I do apologize to put you through all of that."

She sighed, reaching up to twist her hair into a bun. "Well, as long as we get some answers, I suppose I shouldn't complain." Pulling the hair band off her wrist, she trapped all of her locks together near the top of her head. "When do you think we'll know more?"

"Most of these should be back in a week." The girl wrinkled her nose. "I know, but we don't have quite the same access as the hospitals in New York."

She dropped the face she was making immediately. "Sorry."

"No reason to be." Carlisle scribbled something on the final label, turning to the girl with an understanding look. "It can be scary to not understand what's going on in your body. But I promise you, we will get to the bottom of this."

Amethyst pulled her feet up onto the exam table and started picking at the buckle on her boot. "Speaking of understanding things, I learned quite a lot on my trip to La Push the other day."

He nodded slightly, not seeming phased by this. "I would imagine you did."

"It included a quite interesting legend about some sort of treaty that may keep certain people from going onto their land."

"The Quileute do have quite a rich and intriguing oral history."

She pursed her lips. "If we can, I want to talk to you guys about some of the things I learned before I continue with my summer project. I now understand why Jasper wasn't overly thrilled about it and would like to get a better grasp on what I'm walking into and how it impacts my relationship with you."

"You do know that you spending time out on the reservation wouldn't change anything when it comes to us," he said, glancing at her in surprise. "We may not have the best relationship with the people, but it's a functional one."

"I just don't want to be causing any kind of trouble between the two parties." Amethyst sighed slightly. "Or with Jasper."

Carlisle walked over to the girl, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "The two of you have made it through much more difficult situations. Don't carry this weight so heavily on your shoulders. But, of course, you're welcome to come over once you're done with work and talk everything through with the family."

"I would appreciate that."

"This isn't just a one-time offer, you do realize." He reached up and smoothed some of her hair back into place. "You're welcome any time you would like to come over. You're practically part of the family."

Her cheeks lit up to about the same color as her cardigan at that point, making him chuckle before leading her out of the room.

The brunette just had time to stop and buy herself a sub to scarf down before heading into work, calling out a hello to Chloe who was in the back office as she grabbed a stack of books to start retuning to the shelves. She took a moment to call home once all the books were back in their proper places, letting the Crowley's know she would be home late, before settling into her seat at the circulation desk.

A few hours later, she was sitting across from Jasper as she devoured a turkey burger, surprised by how hungry she actually was. When he chuckled, she glanced up at him, smiling slightly shyly as she put the burger back down.

"No need for embarrassment," he said, giving her his trademark smirk. "I just agree that it's nice to see you with a real appetite. It doesn't happen very often and can be concerning."

"You're telling me," she said with a sigh, popping a brown sugar sweet potato fry in her mouth and closing her eyes briefly, enjoying the flavor. "I can't remember the last time that I actually felt the word ravenous would be apt to describe me."

"Ravenous, are you?" His eyes held a challenge, making her raise an eyebrow. "Is there anything I can do to help you fill that craving?"

She was about to reply when Rosalie walked into the kitchen, an annoyed look on her face. "When you're quite through making the entire house wish it was possible to vomit, you need to move your car. It's in my way."

The brunette blinked for a moment before standing up, but the boy across from her waved her back down. "I'll take care of it," he said, the same smirk still pulling on his lips. "Stay here and finish your food."

"My keys are in the front pocket of my bag," she said to his back as he walked out of the room.

"I know," he replied, making her smile as she looked back down at her plate.

"Do you even know what you're doing?"

Electric blue eyes snapped back up to the blonde still in the room with her. "Come again?"

"You're dating a vampire," she said slowly. Emmett appeared by her arm a moment later and put his hand on it, but she yanked it away. "You and Bella just think you're so special and act like you've won the lottery. But you don't even realize what this family is giving up for you, or what you're giving up by choosing this."

"Since I clearly don't understand the situation, why don't you spell it out for me," the girl replied, leaning back in her chair to stare her down.

"Rosalie," Esme warned, appearing in the room as well with Carlisle right beside her. "It might be best if you left for a little while."

"No," the blonde snapped, focusing back on Amethyst. "They don't even realize what they're doing; what they're getting involved in. Both of them just think they can walk in here like they deserve the world and have no consequences."

Jasper appeared behind the brunette just as the girl finished speaking, anger rolling off him in waves. "Back off Rosalie. Now."

"See what I mean?" she demanded, spinning to look at Carlisle. "We have been fine on our own for so long. Then these humans get involved and our lives suddenly become cleaning up their messes and making sure they don't get hurt by the big bad wolves and constant babysitting! I don't want to spend my entire summer watching her!"

"Watching me?"

"Leave now, Rosalie. I'm not asking you," Jasper said, his hand on the back of her chair tightening enough that the girl could feel the metal giving way.

"That's the thing. No one is asking me. I did what I was told to keep Bella safe out of obligation to this family. But now I have to be responsible for another one when she's willingly putting herself in danger, even just by dating Jasper? This is stupid."

"It's time for you to leave now," Carlisle said, stepping in front of the blonde and guiding her out of the room with Esme following as Emmett tugged her from behind. Amethyst stared after her in confusion, before turning on Jasper behind her.

"You were going to have Rosalie babysit me all summer while I'm out in La Push? That was your great idea on how to keep me safe?"

"We were going to keep someone at the treaty line at all times just in case something went wrong," the blonde explained quickly, obviously realizing just how angry she was.

"Something went wrong? Like what?"

"Wolves are completely unpredictable. You have no idea what could happen when you're spending all day with them, and Alice has no way of seeing what's happening when you're around them. One wrong move and you could set them off. And you aren't exactly known for keeping your temper."

"Are you kidding me?" She could hear the combination of hurt and anger in her voice as she practically yelled at him, not particularly helping to counteract his point. "You think I'm stupid enough to screw everything up by pissing off someone that I barely even know and making them turn into a wolf or whatever which I still don't totally understand? And then you just send whoever is babysitting across the treaty line, breaking the agreement you have with them because this stupid human just couldn't keep her mouth shut."

"It'd be far from the first time," he said.

Half a second later, his face changed. "Amethyst-"

"Don't." She held up a hand. "Just don't. Walk away, Jasper."

"Darlin'-"

"I'm serious. We are not going to scream at each other and say things we regret for the rest of the night."

"I don't-"

She sighed, dropping into the chair. "Just go do some work for the company or something. Give me a few minutes."

He hovered for a moment longer, reaching out to gently cup her face. The girl jerked away from his hand, making him heave his own sigh before he left the kitchen, leaving her alone to stew.

It wasn't that they didn't trust her, she tried to remind herself after she took the time to catch her breath. It was that they didn't trust the wolves. They were trying to keep her safe by putting a member of their own family in a precarious situation just in case the need came up.

The girl repeated that to herself a handful of times before her hands stopped shaking, allowing her to stand up from the table and carry her plate over to the actual kitchen. She scraped the rest of her food into the trash can before washing her plate by hand in the sink, making sure that she was completely calm before walking into the office just off the living room.

Jasper immediately reached out for her, but she settled into the other chair instead, pulling her legs up onto the chair and watching as he finished some report in the computer. Once it was finished, he turned to face her.

"Don't apologize," she said, cutting off the words that came out of his mouth. "I don't want this to be the way we are."

"Which means?"

Amethyst smiled slightly, wrapping her arms around her leg. "It's what Tyler said to me back when we were arguing all the time. We shouldn't fight and then apologize and act like nothing ever happened. It's better to talk things through than just to apologize and move on."

He stared at her for a moment before leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek. That time, she didn't pull away. "This is still new to me," he said softly, leaning back into his chair. "This whole concept of a healthy relationship, or however you want to put it."

"I've only dated casually before you. This is still all new to me, too. I've learned some from Tyler and his parents, as well as some from Carlisle and Esme. But it's definitely a change."

"A welcome one," Jasper said gently, reaching over to still her hand that had been picking at her jeans.

"That doesn't mean we can keep a relationship going like this, though."

The two sat in silence for a moment before the brunette sighed.

"I know it isn't that you guys don't trust me. You all don't trust the wolves, and you don't trust things that you can't control. Alice can't come and scoop me up like she did in Seattle because she doesn't know what will happen. You don't like that I'm out of your reach with essentially no one to protect me, so you wanted to have people ensuring my safety."

"We were planning on telling you about it, just after you had finished your dinner instead of the middle of an argument."

She smiled slightly. "So basically your condition for me being able to do this project in La Push is to have a babysitter."

"Someone who can come and get you if the need arises. They would be nearby constantly."

"But you actually can't be nearby without breaking the treaty. It's logistically impossible."

"Treaty be damned if one of them hurts you," he said, pulling her chair closer to him.

"Now that's no way to think," she said softly, pulling his hand from the chair into her lap. "You guys can't violate a pact that you have to keep you from killing one another over me."

"If they hurt you, they've violated the treaty by attacking one of us."

She pressed her lips together, trying both to keep a blush down and figure out what to say next. "There has to be some sort of compromise," the brunette said finally. "Like send me there with anti-wolf spray or something like that. And then I can reach out to one of you if something really goes wrong."

"Would you let me buy you a cell phone then?"

"What?"

"So you can reach out to us," he said. "Let us add you to our plan. It's the closest thing to a middle road we'll find in this discussion."

Amethyst eyed him hesitantly. "That can be a lot of money. I don't really feel comfortable with just agreeing to you all spending that on me."

"You can think of it as buying me peace of mind," Jasper said, his lips pulling up into that stupidly perfect smirk. "I can't be over there with you, and we won't sit at the line to wait if anything goes wrong. But you can let us know if you need us, any day and any time."

They both knew that she was going to give in once he gave her that smirk, but she waited a moment longer before replying. "There's no chance you're taking no for an answer."

"Correct."

"And you aren't going to let me pay for anything that has to do with this phone."

"Correct."

"Ever."

"I can do this all day, darlin'."

She sighed, moving out of her chair to settle into his lap. "Just, nothing too fancy, please."

"No promises," he said, pressing a kiss to her head before reaching around her to keep working on things for the family.

 **A/N:**

 **First of all, sorry for the short chapter. I stopped it where I did because next chapter is when we'll get to the track competition, which is where I had planned on stopping this story originally. Now... We'll see.**

 **Also, thank you all for being awesome and officially reviewing this story more than 100 times! Each and every one of you gets a cookie or a brownie. Your choice. Or both, if you're one of the reviewers.**

 **As always, feedback is asked for and welcomed. Anyone who wants to talk anything through about the story can message me at any time and I'll make sure to address any potential concerns.**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter - I promise the next one will be better!**

 **-Situation**


	43. Dare You To Move To The Meet

Amethyst found herself unable to sleep Friday night, instead mentally counting the minutes until she could lace up her shoes in competition again. She was out of bed and in the shower before her alarm even went off, trying to shake off the combination of jitters and excitement as she shampooed her hair.

The girl danced her way back over to her room in a towel, turning on the radio once her door was safely closed to keep from waking Tyler up. She pulled her track uniform off the chair where she had laid it out the night before, grinning at the blue and gold track singlet that had "Spartans" across the front and Ashford printed across the back. Throwing a sports bra on underneath, the brunette pulled the uniform top on, her smile growing as she ran her hands over the material excitedly. She also pulled on her compression shorts and dash shorts before grabbing her warm up gear and shoes. She walked out of the house as quietly as she could, tucking her keys behind a bush after she locked the door and lacing up her shoes. The girl then dropped her warm up gear on top of the keys, took a deep breath of the fresh air, and started to run.

Knowing better than to push herself too far, she kept a slow pace as she did a mile loop, walking for another mile when she found that she wasn't ready to stop yet. When she got home, she warmed down in the yard, stretching out her leg muscles with a satisfied groan before making her way back inside.

Tyler gave her a disapproving look as she slid into a seat across the table from him, eyeing a stack of pancakes hungrily.

"You know the point of having practices cancelled was to keep us fresh, not so that we could just wear ourselves out at home."

"Just wanted to make sure these shoes were broken in," she replied lightly, reaching out to grab a pancake from the stack Mrs. Crowley made on the middle of the table and dropping it onto her plate, smiling at the woman who passed her a jar of sugar-free jam.

The Crowleys had surprised the teenagers with the new track shoes two weekends ago, so they had been running in them every chance they got to break them in properly before their competition.

The boy let the issue drop at that point, polishing off his stack of pancakes before heading upstairs to take his own shower. Amethyst found herself unable to force down more than half of her pancake, so she subtly slid the rest into the trash when she knew the adults weren't looking, opting to get some apple juice out of the fridge instead.

She downed the glass before heading back upstairs, not even bothering to knock before she opened the bathroom door and grabbed her sugar monitor from the inside. Waving off Tyler's protests, even though he couldn't see it through the shower curtain, and took the monitor back into her room. The girl laid on her bed so that all of her hair was flowing down from one side as she waited for the results to come back, humming along with the radio she had forgotten to shut off.

When her sugar read at a normal level, she let out a sigh of relief. Her health for the weekend had been one of her main concerns, particularly after her appointment with Carlisle, so knowing that the reading was acceptable allowed her breath to come a lot more easily.

Electric blue eyes drifted closed as she laid there, tracing through her events for the day. Coach Leah had decided to throw her at every one of her events to see what kind of times she would post, regardless of necessarily qualifying for states later in the summer. And even though it was just a regional meet, it was a track competition, which made her grin and roll over, pressing her face into her pillows with a small squeal.

A beep from her nightstand pulled her out of her moment, signaling that she had a new message. The brunette sighed and army-crawled over to it, grabbing the Motorola Q8 to check it.

The Cullens had obviously splurged on the phone, not just getting her a top-of-the line phone with a full QWERTY keyboard and Windows Mobile version 6.0. However, she had to admit, texting wasn't entirely inconvenient.

 _Nervous?_

She smiled, quickly reply to Edward's message. _Me? Never._

 _Well, you should be. You are horrible, after all._

The brunette laughed out loud, rolling onto her back with her phone in her hand. She quickly navigated to Jasper's number, hitting the green button to connect the call.

"How are you feeling?" he asked before the phone could even completely get out a ring, something she realized he didn't find strange.

"Horrible now. Edward told me I suck."

His laugh made her smile, bringing warmth to her even through the phone. "Want me to go have some words with him?"

"Nah, I'd much rather you both be in one piece at the competition today."

"And we're supposed to be there around 6 tonight, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "You think you're so clever, Mr. Hale."

"Just testing to make sure the nerves haven't rattled your brain yet, darlin'. We'll get there before 11."

"It does help when you have your own built-in traffic monitor."

Jasper chuckled again. "Speaking of which, that traffic monitor wants to know if she needs to bring anything to do your hair or fix your nails?"

Alice had painted Amethyst's nails in school colors for her on Friday at lunch, so the girl examined them mindlessly at his question. "She does realize this is a track meet and not a fashion show, right?"

"I'm just the messenger."

"You can tell her I'm fine," she said with a small laugh. "I'm just excited to be back out there today."

"We're excited to see you."

She smiled again. "I love you, Jasper."

"I love you, darlin'. See you soon."

The girl disconnected the call, pressing the phone to her chest for a moment before it beeped again.

 _Tattle-tail._

She grinned. _Figured it was retribution for you missing the meet. You think your own girlfriend is more important than me? Psh._

 _Kick some ass for me._

She grinned at the final message from Edward, powering down her phone before reaching over to toss it into her nightstand drawer along with her monitor. It seemed strange to her to be carrying around a phone that her boyfriend's family was paying for, particularly when she was going to a track meet with pretty much everyone who was important to her, anyway.

A knock at her door the moment after she pushed the drawer shut made her jump slightly, but the brunette quickly rolled her eyes at herself before going over to pull the door open.

Mrs. Crowley was standing on the other side with a grin. "You ready?"

"You know it," she said, grabbing her pre-packed track bag from her room and her warm-up gear from where she had left it into the kitchen before climbing into the backseat of their SUV beside Tyler, who looked as if he was dealing with just as many jitters as she was.

They pulled into Port Angeles High School around 10 a.m. The school was the largest on the peninsula, meaning they got to play host to the event, but Amethyst still found herself surprised by how small it was as they climbed out of the car and walked over to the registration table.

The two teenagers were let through right away while the Crowley's had to buy tickets to be able to go in and watch the event, so they waved before making their way over to Coach Leah and a handful of their teammates who had gotten there before them.

She grinned at them as they approached. "Anyone puked yet today?"

"I almost did at the amount of pancakes Tyler ate for breakfast today," the brunette replied, laughing when he jammed his elbow into her side.

"Good, I'm glad you guys sat down for a good meal this morning. If you find yourself needing anything, I have sports drinks, water, juice, some granola bars and dried fruit in my bag."

The boy raised an eyebrow at her. "You come prepared."

"You would too after 5 years of coaching," she laughed, pointing them over to the place where they could pick up their numbers. The pair dropped off their bags, the girl pausing to pull on her sweats and jacket, before going over to join the line.

Stephanie was there by the time the pair got back, covering a yawn as she waved to them before going to check in herself. Once she had hers, the group took turns pining them on before dropping down in the grass to do some stretching.

"Who's the real competition around here?" Amethyst asked a few minutes later, reaching out to pull the tape out of the blonde's hand to wrap her ankle for her.

"Port Angeles typically puts out a strong showing at state, meaning they're nearly impossible to beat in regionals," she said, nodding toward her friend as the girl wrapped it carefully. "Gig Harbor always has a few standouts, being right there by Tacoma. Other than that, it's normally a pretty open field."

"So there's some serious podium potential, but don't expect gold," Tyler said.

"Always expect gold," the brunette interrupted, shaking her head slightly. "Always right and push for the gold. If you aren't expecting it out of yourself, no one else will either."

Half an hour later, a decent crowd had filled the stadium, so Coach Leah walked back over to her team where the last few stragglers were pinning on their numbers.

"Alright guys, we're about an hour out from first races. Take fifteen minutes free time to stretch if you haven't, or go check in with your parents or whatever your tradition is. After that, we'll run some drills for about half an hour, and then we'll Zen in for the last bit before first races. I'm going to go grab a schedule from the organizers, so I'll be back around the same time as everyone else."

After she walked away, Tyler nudged the girl and nodded up to the stands where a group was standing on the top bleacher holding a sign with a huge apple painted on it alongside what appeared to be some kind of bird. She had to hold in her laughter as Mike and Erik realized they were looking and started shaking the banner, making Lauren, Angela and Jessica all roll their eyes and laugh.

"What is that?" the girl called out as they finally managed to make their way up the stands.

"It's a rooster!" Mike defended, looking over at the drawing. "You're a big apple and Tyler is a rooster."

"Is this an inadvertent way of calling him a dick?"

He grinned. "We were just generally going for a headstrong and funny animal, but you're the one who said it."

She laughed before she reached over and pulled Angela up off the bench, wrapping her arms around the taller girl. "I'm so happy you all could make it today."

"Ben's sorry he had to miss it," she said, pulling back with a slightly guilty look on her face. "He had to pick up a couple extra hours at work this weekend to make up for taking the next one off for prom."

"That's nothing to be sorry for," the brunette said with a small roll of her eyes. "Ben should know better than to apologize for taking care of himself and his family."

The girl went to reply, but her eyes floated over her friend's shoulder, focusing on something that made her mouth snap shut. Amethyst turned around, grinning when Jasper tilted his head at her, his trademark smirk in place and hands folded behind his back.

She turned back around to her friend for a moment. "Really, Angela? Still? After all this time?"

The tall girl shrugged slightly with a sheepish grin, waving at the boy before she turned her attention back to their other friends.

"Quite some friends you've got here," he said once she was just a few steps away.

"I'm a pretty lucky girl." She went up on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek, placing a hand on his chest to balance herself while she spoke softly by his ear. "Are you sure you're alright to be here? This is a rather large crowd with a lot of emotions."

"I'm fine." He pressed his own kiss to the side of her head, just above her ear. "We took every precaution just in case. I wouldn't miss something this important to you, though."

The brunette pulled away, her cheeks tinged pink as she smiled at him. "So is our bet still on?"

He snorted. "Absolutely not."

"What bet?'

The two turned to see Lauren and Jessica staring at the two of them with interest. Jasper reached over to wrap an arm around the girl's waist, pulling her closer to him, making her smile internally as she was sure it was done to rile them up.

"We had made a bet at one point that if I podium in all my events, I would go to prom with whomever I wanted. If I didn't, we would go to prom together."

The blonde snorted. "Stupid bet."

"I'm inclined to agree with you on that point," Amethyst said, looking up at her boyfriend with a smile as he gently squeezed her hip. "And while I'm sorry to ruin such a lovely meeting, but Tyler and I are due back on the track."

She had to actually go up and pull the boy's arm to get his attention away from his argument with Mike about the rooster, rolling her eyes as he huffed in annoyance before following her. She waved over her shoulder at her friends and blew a kiss to Jasper who had gone back to sit with Carlisle, Esme, Alice and Emmett, who all gave her their own waves.

Once they were on the field, the girl had Tyler cup his hands and help her stretch out her legs, groaning softly when they were pushed closed to the point of it hurting. She also twisted while he was still holding onto her ankle, getting all the pressure out from around her hips.

"Alright, listen up! We're starting today with the 4-by-800, naturally ladies first, followed by 100 and 300 hurdles, 100 meters, the mile, 400 meter, 800 meter, 3,200 meter and then we wrap with the 4-by-100. Questions?" Everyone shook their heads, so Coach Leah nodded. "We're going to warm up at 8 minute pace for about 24 minutes with 8-by-20 surges, then group back up for some lateral steps, ankling and leg swings. Now get moving!"

Some of the group laughed and joked as they headed out for their jog around the track, but Amethyst was silent as she ran between the boy and Stephanie. Both of them seemed to be in the same mindset, just falling into an easy pace as they made their way around.

The brunette was annoyed that she had to sit by and watch through the first three events, particularly the hurdles, sitting in a butterfly position and picking at her nail polish as she watched her team get off to an unfortunately slow start.

When they called everyone out to the line for the 100 meter, she felt her stomach leap into her throat with a vengeance, determined not to allow her to keep down the half a pancake she had eaten. The girl forced it back down when she noticed her number wasn't in the first heat, so she took her place on the side of the track with Tyler, grabbing his hand as tightly as he would allow as she watched the first group flat-out sprint down the stretch of the track. Swallowing thickly a moment later, she stepped out onto the starting line beside Stephanie, giving the blonde a shaky smile as she started to shake her limbs out.

Once the brunette found her lane, she closed her eyes and reminded herself to breathe. She paced her breathing with the flexing of her calves, before switching over to bouncing on the balls of her feet for a few beats. Once her breath was calmed down, she reached down and grabbed her ankles, making sure her entire body was nice and loose before standing back up and smoothing any hairs that had flown out of her bun back into place.

"Runners, on your marks."

She pressed her lips together as she got into her starting position, staring down the track.

That was the only thing that mattered. Her and the track. Everything else was irrelevant until after she had reached the other side of that stretch right in front of her.

"Set."

She tensed for a half second and then let the breath out with a grin.

The buzzer sound came out through the megaphone the official was holding, and then they were moving. She didn't even see the other people around her as her feet hit the pavement, faster, _faster_ , and then suddenly she wasn't running anymore, slowing herself down as she crossed the finish line.

Stephanie was beside her, and the two girls made eye contact, both their chests heaving from the race, before cracking up. Amethyst reached over and hugged her, exhilarated by just that short amount of racing.

"Qualifying for finals are numbers 35, 122 and 127. Please clear the track, and finals will begin in three minutes."

The brunette glanced down at her number, another grin breaking out as she read 122 printed on the paper. She glanced over at the blonde's which read 127, before pulling the girl in for another hug as they laughed together.

"No time to get sappy now," she said a moment later, pushing the brunette away. "We've got some asses to kick."

They didn't announce the winners immediately at the end of finals for each event, but the girl was quite sure she didn't finish on the podium for the event, only putting a slight damper on her day. She turned around immediately to the mile, which was her strength and an event she was sure she would podium in anyway.

There wasn't a qualifier for the longer race, and Amethyst knew she had pulled out to a lead early enough that she was definitely one of the top three finishers. A girl from Port Angeles caught up with her toward the end, making her unsure who exactly got the line first, but she figured they would all get their answers soon enough.

The girl made sure to cheer Tyler on in the 400, screaming along with her teammates when he qualified for the finals and was early enough across the finish line to possibly get on the podium.

She was positive when she crossed the finish line for the 3,200 that she had the gold in that event, making her pump her first as she slowed down, grinning as she glanced up into the audience to see her friends shaking their banner for her like crazy and cheering before making eye contact with the Cullen's, who surprised her by also getting to their feet to cheer for her.

Amethyst and Stephanie met back up while the boys took their chance at the event to stretch out along with their teammates, getting ready for the 4x100. The brunette hummed as she pressed the ball of her foot against the wall to get the tension out, wincing slightly as she put too much pressure for a moment. Once the guys were cleared off from the track, the girls traded high-fives before heading out to their spots on the track. The brunette was the third leg, transferring to Stephanie to close out the race, so she stood at the end of the first curve, bouncing on the balls of her feet before reaching down and grabbing her ankles again.

Once the bullhorn sounded, she took her position, ready to start moving as soon as she felt the baton in her hand. She didn't have to wait very long, but it was long enough that some of the other teams around her had already started their third leg. She groaned mentally but shot off, determined to make up the time.

Electric blue focused in on her friend at the end of the 100 meter, prepared to fly past the entire distance without even feeling it like every other race.

But then, something changed. She wasn't on her feet anymore. She wasn't running toward Stephanie anymore. The brunette found herself on the ground, her body moving in these uncontrollable, unpredictable ways. And then suddenly, she wasn't aware if she was moving at all.

 **A/N:**

 **Because everyone loves a cliffhanger chapter published at 4 a.m., right?**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Keep the feedback rolling in - I love hearing what you guys think and what you're looking forward to in the story!**

 **Also, with the way I write, I'm looking for someone to bounce ideas off as I write/beta read for me, if anyone is interested. You're welcome to PM me or leave me a review if you wouldn't mind helping - any time anyone wants to offer is much appreciated.**

 **Hope you guys are enjoying your week. And don't worry, answers will come in the next update.**

 **-Situation**


	44. Dare You To Move To Tell Your Story

When the loud beeping began to invade her dreams, the girl found herself wondering if Tyler had left his door open. She mentally groaned as the alarm continued to go off, considering pulling the pillow over her head. But if his alarm was going off, that means it was also time for her to get up and run for the day. Wondering why she hadn't heard her alarm go off, Amethyst finally cracked opened her eyes, only to be greeted by blinding florescent lights.

She gasped and threw her arm over her eyes, but found resistance on her arm that made the motion painful. Looking at it, she noticed that there was a needle in by her elbow and something clipped onto her finger. The brunette stared at them in confusion for a moment before her brain finally kicked into gear.

She was at the hospital.

Again.

Wonderful.

The girl slammed her head back again the pillow in frustration as she tried to piece together exactly what had brought her there that time when a sharp voice sounded from beside her bed.

"Don't."

Electric blue eyes snapped over to the blonde who was in a chair by the wall. Rosalie rolled her eyes as soon as they connected, going back to her nails.

"Jasper would hate for you to stay here longer than you have to."

"Nice to know you care so much," she said, relaxing back into her pillow.

"You are not the one I care about in this situation."

Amethyst sighed. "I'm quite aware of that, thanks. Where is everyone?"

"Not everyone can be by your bed every moment of the day," the blonde snapped.

"You're really good at pointing out the obvious today."

The girl leaned forward to reply when Carlisle walked into the room, giving her a warning look. "Hello, dear. It's good to see that you're awake."

"Thanks, Carlisle," the brunette said, her lips pulling up the slightest bit. "Would you mind telling me why I'm here?"

"Why don't we start with what you remember?" he asked, coming over to sit down on the side of the bed.

She sighed and closed her eyes, racking her brain for answers again. A door slamming broke her thoughts, making her eyes snap open to the chair over by the wall that was suddenly vacated.

"Sorry about that," the man said softly.

The brunette shrugged slightly. "She's made it very obvious that she isn't thrilled with babysitting me. I don't expect that to change just because I'm in the hospital."

His lips pulled up into a small smile. "Do you remember anything?"

"I remember going to La Push this week." Amethyst frowned as she leaned back further into her bed. "I think that was on Tuesday? And then our appointment Wednesday with work, and then…" she trailed off softly, pulling her hand up to her head.

"You had school and track practice on Thursday, and then on Friday you went to work after classes."

"Okay." She nodded slowly. "And then the track meet. Is that today?"

"No, dear, that was Saturday."

Her frown deepened as she looked up. "So I went to the track meet? Or did I miss it because I'm here?"

"You did go."

"And then I ended up here after?"

Carlisle pressed his lips together before speaking. "In your final event, your relay, you had a bit of an issue."

"It must be a really fun, awesome thing to deal with if you're dancing around the topic this much."

That got a bit of a smile from him. "Amethyst, you had a tonic-clonic seizure, or a grand mal seizure."

"A seizure?"

"Seizures are not completely uncommon for diabetics. They can happen when your sugar gets too low or for a variety of other reasons."

"But I tested my sugar that day and it was fine."

"That's because your sugar level was only a part of it. You do have a regularly low blood sugar, as you told me it never really spikes but drops regularly. That is due, in part, to you being an athlete. I'm worried that your track season was getting the best of you, and then combined with the adrenaline and pressure of the meet, it dropped too far."

"And that's why I had a seizure."

The man adjusted uncomfortably, making the girl stare. She hadn't ever seen one of the Cullens fidget before, and it caused her nerves to skyrocket.

"It isn't?"

"Well, not precisely."

"Then what?"

"Would you rather wait until your grandparents get here. It should be within the next few hours."

She hardened her stare. "It's serious enough that you called in my grandparents?" He didn't reply, and the knot in her stomach got a little tighter. "Carlisle, what happened to me?"

"Your kidneys are failing," he said at last. "The damage to them has grown overtime instead of mitigating. When we followed up on your illness at the time, the damage wasn't getting worse. But when you came in this past time, your test results showed that they are beginning to shut down." He sighed. "That combined with your illness caused your seizure."

Blinking in surprise, she leaned back against her pillow to stare back up at the ceiling. A minute later, she started laughing.

"Amethyst?"

The girl waved a hand at him, her laughter building.

"Sweetheart, talk to me."

Tears of mirth started to slide out of her eyes, and a moment later the girl was bawling. She pulled her knees up go her chest at the tears continued to fall, feeling a cold hand rest on her back a moment later.

"Just breathe, dear," Carlisle said gently, but as soon as his words processed she shoved his touch away.

"Just breathe? Are you kidding me? How am I supposed to breathe? I was diagnosed with this damn disease in the first place because my parents decided it would be fun to use me as a punching bag for no apparent reason. And now you're telling me that it's even worse? That they decided to do more damage to me than we knew about before? That I'm still not out from under their damn shadow? And I'm just supposed to breathe."

"Not just breathe, but it's a good start. I still want to talk to you more about this."

"What is there to talk about? My parents screwed me and continue to every day of my life. I live with it every single day. This is just a reminder that you can't ever truly get away from it."

The man reached out to put his hand over hers again, but she pulled away immediately, keeping herself in as tight of a ball as possible.

"Please, just leave."

He sighed before nodding slightly and standing up from her bed. "If you need anything, let me know. I'll come back when your grandparents get here, and Jasper should be here soon."

She didn't acknowledge his statement, keeping her head buried as she listened to him make his way out of the room. Her mind whirred as she sat there alone, the beeping of the machines slowly grating on her nerves.

She thought about how it all started back in New York when her parents slowly started putting pressure on her as she got older, but it wasn't a big deal. _Beep, beep._ The first time she brought home a B in high school, she remembered their words about how it was ridiculous that she had even managed to get in to Stuyvesant; how she was just going to fail there and embarrass them. _Beep, beep._ Coming home too late from work with her grandfather. She could never do anything right, keeping them up waiting for her because they had things they needed her to do around the house. _Beep, beep._ Her first track meet where she brought home a gold was just an inconvenience. They didn't bother coming. They didn't even pick her up at the school, making her take the subway home after hours of competing. _Beep, beep._ And then the crash. That damn crash that they could say was her fault all they wanted even though she didn't do anything, couldn't have done anything differently. _Beep, beep, beep._ Moving. Dropping dishes. A bird getting into the house. _Beep, beep._ Leaving a burner on. _Beep._ Leaving the television on. _Beep._ Going to Seattle with the Cullens. _Beep, beep._

"Just shut up!" Amethyst screamed, yanking the IV out of her arm. She didn't even feel the tears pouring down her face as she ripped the monitor off her finger, throwing it as hard as she could with a defeated scream. She wanted to stand up, get out of bed, run and keep running and never stop until she couldn't feel anything anymore, and then suddenly, everything stopped.

Her breath evened out, the knot in her chest unraveled and she reached up to her face in wonder, surprised to find the tears that were there. The girl stared at her wet fingers for a moment, not processing them.

"Hey there, darlin'."

She glanced up from her hands, making eye contact with Jasper. He had his hands held out in front of him, as if he were facing a rabid dog. The concern on his face made her heart hurt for a moment, but that too quickly passed.

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours over there?"

"Just leave me alone, please." Her voice was raspy as the words scratched their way out of her throat.

He was beside her in an instant, his hands still out in front of him. "I'll leave you once I know you're okay. Does that sound alright?"

"No, that doesn't sound alright," the brunette said, but she knew her heart wasn't behind the words as she balled herself back up.

"Would you be mad if I decided to do it anyway?"

When she didn't reply, he sat down on the bed next to her, one of his hands resting on top of hers. She couldn't find it in herself to push him away like she had with Carlisle.

They sat there for a few minutes before her feelings started to creep back in slowly. She squeezed her eyes closed as the hurt, the helplessness and the anger worked their way back in together.

"Couldn't you just keep them away?" she murmured a moment later, working to make her breath continue normally.

"Not forever, darlin'," he said, moving to wrap his arm around her. She tensed up, so he settled for resting his hand on her back instead. "I wish I could, but you do have to face this eventually."

"Haven't I faced enough?"

Silence settled back in around them, but it was nowhere near comfortable. The feelings did creep back away, leaving her in a blank space once again.

"You should really let me hook you back up. These machines may be annoying, but they are helpful."

"What's the point anyway?"

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, surprising the girl. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean what's the point?" she snapped, jerking her chin away. "It's pointless. It's all pointless. I'm so damn broken at this point that there's no point in even trying."

Her head jerked sharply again and she was forced to look into angry honey colored eyes. The anger contained in them was enough to try to make her look away again, but he kept a much tighter hold that time. "Don't you ever talk like that."

"I'm not wrong." The brunette's voice came out as a whisper.

"You are so very, very wrong. Your life is wonderful and bright and you don't even know what you have still to come. I've told you before that your humanity is one of the best things about you, and I mean it. The fact that you have a heartbeat, that you're living and feeling and experiencing everything is part of what keeps me going. The point is to keep you healthy so that you can continue enjoying that vibrancy and keep taking every opportunity possible. Do not ever talk about giving that up."

"But you gave it up." Her voice was even softer than before, barely coming out as more than a breath.

"Not by choice."

Electric blue was hidden behind a mist as she blinked at him. "What?"

"I didn't choose this life. It wasn't something I wanted. None of us willingly became vampires, and for the most part we wish things would have played out differently. Even though it brought us to places and people that make things easier, it doesn't mean we're living dream lives."

Tentatively, Amethyst reached out and pushed his hair back from his face. "Tell me about it."

"Later. Right now, this is about you and about making you better."

"I don't want to think about me right now. I don't want to think about anything that's real. Please, just take me away from here."

He sighed, leaning into her hand. "It isn't a pleasant story. This really is not the time or place to be discussing such unpleasant things."

The brunette closed her eyes, accessing a depth of emotions that she had kept hidden away for so long that she barely even recognized that they were there herself. She felt him wince against her hand as the full force of her anger and despair flooded her body, immediately causing a tear to slip from her eye. "Please," she said softly, feeling his eyes track the tear down her face. "Anything to get away from here."

"It's not a story that will make you feel better."

"Jasper." His name fought its way out of her throat. "Please."

His internal conflict played out on his face. "Only if you let me hook you back up to the machines."

He took away this new wave of emotions as he quickly sterilized her IV, finding another vein to stick it in. Her heart monitor was reattached as well before the boy climbed back into bed, settling back against the pillow. He pulled the girl closer to him, allowing her to rest her head on his chest and rest her arm with all the machine connections across his stomach.

"Life isn't like it is in our house for most vampires. I told you about the trackers when they were in our area, and how different that is from the way we live. There are parts of the world where the lives of vampires are even worse than that, being measured in weeks instead of centuries."

"Like where?" Her voice was still very soft, reaching his ears without any of her usual personality attached to them. His heart wrenched, but he continued.

"The South, specifically. They don't much care around there if humans notice them, coming out only in night and constantly planning for their next battle. They've been at war for centuries there, only staying in check due to the existence of the Volturi, which is similar to our government."

"You have a vampire government?"

He smiled slightly, grateful for some of her personality to be shining through the emptiness he knew he was creating. "Are you going to let me tell my story or not, darlin'?"

"You can't talk about a vampire government and not expect me to be curious."

"True." Jasper twirled a lock of her hair around his finger. "But that's for another time. Back in the South, it's all about being able to control the most land with the most humans. Or, put more plainly, more people to feed on. In order to keep that area under their control, vampires would turn some of the more promising humans in the area into newborns. They're much more physically powerful than older vampires, but also practically out of control due to their blood lust.

"Between the fighting, changing and feeding, it was horrific, causing a noticeable population slump. That's when the Volturi stepped in to fix things, but even they couldn't contain it for long. After they left, wars sparked again on a smaller scale, hovering just far enough under the radar."

He pressed a kiss to her forehead at that point, taking a pause. "Are you sure you want me to keep going with this story right now?"

"I'm listening," she replied, voice thick as she pulled herself closer to him. He held her there for a moment before exhaling and continuing.

"In 1861, I enlisted in the Confederate Army at just younger than 17. I was promoted quickly, as people tended to listen to what I had to say, and that gave me an edge over even the more experienced men. By the first battle of Galveston, I was the youngest major in Texas, not even counting my true age.

"They had me evacuated the women and children from the city, and I left with them to head to Houston. I stayed just long enough to make sure they were safe before getting myself a fresh horse and riding back to Galveston. I had only ridden for about a mile when I found three women on foot. Assuming they were stragglers, I got down to offer my assistance."

"Of course you did."

"No need for the sarcasm."

She didn't reply, so he tightened his arm around her waist and continued. "Two of the girls left to go hunt, but one of them stayed behind. Maria."

The name rang a bell for the brunette, but the haze she found clouding over her mind was too much to fight.

"She stepped closer as if she was going to kiss me. I was frozen there, even though all my body wanted to do was run. And a few days later, I joined this new way of life and joined Maria."

"And you got caught up in the battles?"

Jasper noticed the drag to her words and pushed his guilt aside at the fact that he had practically been sedating the girl the entire time he had been talking. "I did. And I'll tell you more about it another time. Right now, you need to get some sleep."

"But I'm not tired."

"Sure, darlin'."

When she drifted off a moment later, he sighed and pulled her to him, pressing another kiss to the top of her head. "I'm sorry," he said softly, reaching to smooth down the hair he had unsettled with the kiss.

When Carlisle walked in a minute later, the boy went to slide off the bed, but his father shook his head. "You can stay. Her grandparent's plane isn't set to land for another two hours, and then it should still take about another hour and a half for them to get here."

"I don't know what I'll do when she wakes up," he said, settling back in underneath the girl. "I practically drugged her to get her to sleep. I manipulated her, Carlisle."

"You calmed her down in the best way you had available. She probably won't even realize anything, instead focusing on the story you told her while you calmed her down. It's for the best anyway."

"Is it?"

The man nodded, gazing at him with knowing eyes. "She was panicking. She needed your help to stay calm and not hurt herself. You did well, Jasper."

"It still doesn't feel that way."

"You can look at it this way: Amethyst is going to sleep until her grandparents get here and we can talk through our next steps with her grandparents. She doesn't have to spend time worrying and stressing herself with something that is out of her control."

The boy gazed down at her as she adjusted, her hand gripping at his shirt, looking for comfort even in her sleep. "I want to take care of her, and just taking away all of her emotions the way I did isn't helping her."

"Maybe not in certain situations. Today, you took her mind off the situation. You are helping her in the long run."

He nodded curtly. "I'm going to stay here until her grandparents get here."

"I presumed as much. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let me know."

The blonde continued to stare at his girlfriend, regretting his actions, even though Carlisle's words were true. He knew it was better to let her process her emotions, but seeing her panic and spiral out of control had been too much.

"I love you," he told her softly, before leaning back and closing his eyes, as if he would fall asleep there as well.

 **A/N:**

 **Well, I can't say this chapter went as planned, so we're all waiting to see how this rides out together at this point in time.**

 **Also, my apologies for the delay in posting. With Charlottesville and the eclipse and high school football season and Hurricane Harvey... Life's been pretty crazy. To say the least. (Also, as a note, I do hope that you and all of your loved ones are safe.)**

 **To a lighter point, I have an idea of where I'm going with this story after the end of Twilight, but it's all just fragments. Would you guys rather have me post the fragments (which I've already developed up to post-Breaking Dawn) or wait as I work to write the chapters? I can't promise regular posts, obviously, so I wanted to hear from you all about it.**

 **Please, also, don't hate me for this chapter. Part of me hated writing it the way I did, but I promise it's all to a point.**

 **Feedback is always appreciated and welcomed, and I look forward to hearing from you guys!**

 **-Situation**


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